A ceremony was held in Tokyo on Monday 22nd to restore the honor of leprosy patients in Japan, who had suffered severe discrimination based on the government’s past forced isolation policy.”We former patients and their families still live silently, hiding ourselves from prejudice and discrimination that are still swirling,” said Isao Tateyama, head of a group of plaintiffs in damages lawsuit against the government.
A ceremony was held in Tokyo on Monday to restore the honor of leprosy patients in Japan, who had suffered severe discrimination based on the government’s past forced isolation policy.”We former patients and their families still live silently, hiding ourselves from prejudice and discrimination that are still swirling,” said Isao Tateyama, head of a group of plaintiffs in damages lawsuit against the government.
Yohei Sasakawa, honorary chair of the Nippon Foundation and WHO goodwill ambassador for leprosy elimination, visited a leprosy colony in New Delhi where up to 250 residents live, urging about 30 accompanying Japanese business representatives to support efforts against the disease. India accounts for roughly 60 percent of the world’s new leprosy cases, and the Sasakawa Health Foundation organized the visit to raise awareness among Japanese residents in the country. Although effective treatments exist, people affected by leprosy in India still face deep-rooted social exclusion and often form or join isolated colonies—some of the roughly 800 believed to exist nationwide—to escape discrimination tied to the caste system
National Sanatorium Kikuchi Keifuen, an isolation facility for leprosy patients in southwestern Japan, had dissected the bodies of 479 patients after death, the facility said. The facility “cannot escape being accused of disrespecting he human rights,” the report said. The sanatorium also found that there was a period in which the facility made patients sign documents consenting to the dissection of their bodies after death.
“-Relatives of former leprosy patients, at a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday, called on the government to continue efforts to combat discrimination after the recent enactment of a law for compensation.”
“The Diet, Japan’s parliament, on Friday enacted bills to compensate relatives of former leprosy patients and restore their honor damaged through discrimination.”
Barrier Free Japan