Proxy agencies for disabled hires grow as firms try to fill quota

Japanese firms have been using proxy agencies to employ disabled people, hiring them to work for unrelated farming schemes in a move seen as a way to fulfill official disability quotas, a welfare ministry probe and a Kyodo News investigation found Monday.

Around 800 companies across the country have been renting farms from such agencies for approximately 5,000 disabled workers, with the produce often distributed to company employees instead of being sold, according to the investigations.

A dozen or so agencies operate a total of 85 farms across Japan, while the majority of companies that have ...