Asahi v. Japan
Japan Supreme Court
21 Minshu 5 at p. 1043, 1964 Gyo-Tsu 14 (1967)
- Written by Mary Katherine Cunningham, JD
Facts
Asahi was a tuberculosis patient receiving a 600 yen stipend, free meals, and medical care from the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare (ministry). After Asahi’s brother began sending him 1,500 yen a month, the ministry terminated Asahi’s stipend and required Asahi to pay 900 yen towards his medical care. Asahi brought a case challenging the actions of the ministry, and a lower court reinstated the stipend. The lower court found that the Livelihood Protection Law outlined certain standards for aid provided by the government and that the ministry had discretion to determine the minimum standard for aid. However, the lower court found the required payment of 900 yen and the benefits from the government were inadequate to maintain the standards guaranteed by Article 25 of the constitution and the Livelihood Protection Law. The ministry appealed the judgment to the supreme court. While Asahi died during the process of appeal, the supreme court entered a judgment on the case.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
What to do next…
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.