Former patients of Hansen's disease are hoping their fight to restore the human rights they have long been deprived of will build public awareness and eventually lead to the creation of a society in which no one's dignity is denied.
The former patients, plaintiffs in a legal battle with the government, were awarded damages Friday by a Kumamoto District Court for suffering caused by a national policy of isolation and sterilization. They want the public to learn a lesson from their plight and create a better future.
The first legislation to control Hansen's disease was enacted in 1907 following strong recommendations the year before by Kensuke Mitsuda, then the nation's top medical authority on the infection.