Eine alleinerziehende Mutter, die Sozialleistungen bezieht, reicht beim Bezirksgericht Sendai Klage ein, weil ihr das Pendeln mit dem Auto verboten wurde; Ein ehemaliger Richter weist auf die Diskrepanz zwischen „Regierungsanweisungen“ und der Realität vor Ort in ländlichen Gebieten mit weniger öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln hin

I can see where the government is coming from, with regards to avoiding/deterring welfare leaches (UK is full of them) and saying that before receiving welfare you should be looking to utilize the excess resources you have on hand before receiving welfare, however as long as your vehicle is of appropriate size (e.g. a kei car for a family of 4) and not excessively expensive (e.g. Crown), then the vehicle is an asset to help them get off welfare by providing work opportunities that are not would not be possible without private transport.

Per the article, this is obviously a case of rigid thinking and lack of flexibility by certain local governments…