Greeting
Director : Seiji Mita M.D.
Thank you for visiting the website of National sanatorium, Kikuchi Keifuen. In 2019, our sanatorium observed the 110th anniversary of its founding. On this occasion, we updated the greeting on the website for the first time in two years.
Now, this year, the first year of the Reiwa era, the government received a ruling on the Hansen's disease family damage trial in June, and accepted in July. In addition, it was pointed out that not only the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare but also the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education did not do enough to remove discrimination against leprosy from society, in this trial. We apologize again to the people who have recovered from leprosy, as well as to their families for the problems they have suffered as a result, and are keenly aware of the need to remove discrimination against leprosy from society.
The history of the National Hansen's Disease Sanatorium, which is not limited to Kikuchi Keifuen, has a large overlap with the history of many patients who have been tormented by the country's incorrect Hansen's disease policy. In 1996, both 1953 revised Leprosy Prevention Law and Old Eugenic Protection Law were abolished. A 2001 lawsuit admitted the unconstitutional nature of the abolished Leprosy Prevention Law. However, it was not until this year that the problem of compensation for victims of the Old Eugenic Protection Law, which forced patients to undergo sterilization, was resolved. We admit that it is late to think of the abolition of these laws.
While new onset of Hansen's disease in Japan has been zero for a long time, currently Kikuchi Keifuen has 179 people as of November 8th, with no new residents with an average age of 84.4 years old. The average age of those who died in the last two years was 90.6 years. Moreover, about half of those remains are unable to return to their homes even if they wish, and are sleeping in the ossuary in this sanatorium. We sincerely wish the residents happiness, and are committed to sending a message that will not repeat the same mistakes through medical care and welfare that respects the human rights of the people who have recovered from leprosy.
I was very surprised to learn about the history of leprosy for the first time since I was assigned to this sanatorium, and to hear the experiences of many people who have recovered from leprosy. Considering current medical ethics, of course, it was just a stunning story. A long time ago, in a closed sanatorium, there were doctors who had a major influence on the wrong policies, and carried out medical treatment of leprosy along with staff who supported them. I was embarrassed to know this history for the first time after being assigned to this sanatorium as a doctor. But it became a good opportunity to rethink the medical ethics and the complexity of prejudice discrimination.
In the first place, leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium lepra that is difficult to pass on infection, so much so that it was mistaken for a heredity disorder, and even in the long history of Hansen's disease sanatorium, there are no staff members who have become infected from a patient. Furthermore, sanatorium staff members knew this from experience. Moreover, it has been a curable disease since the 1950s when a magic bullet was made, and the number of new patients decreased drastically, and if treated early, no sequelae rendering it no longer a terrible disease. For the 43 years after the law was enacted, even if patients were cured, the Leprosy Prevention Law was not abolished and remained a law that ties the minds and bodies of leprosy patients to sanatoriums.
Why did leprosy patients and their families suffer prejudice and discrimination? Why did the wrong policy continue even after the disease become curable? Why have so many human rights violations occurred, including abortion and infertility surgery, patient labor? Was there no other choice? There are many "whys" in the history of leprosy, and there are many documents remaining to think about that question, in Kikuchi Keifuen.
Please come here to study to clarify the answer. I am sure, for many of you, that this will offer the ability to gain important awareness in the understanding of various human rights.