A man with schizophrenia who says he was forced to spend roughly 40 years in mental hospitals despite an improvement in his condition is urging the Japanese government to do more to overhaul its policies regarding long-stay hospitalization at such institutions.
Tokio Ito, 69, filed a lawsuit against the central government at the Tokyo District Court on Sept. 30, demanding ¥33 million ($318,000) in damages for being denied discharges over the years.
The resident of Ota, Gunma Prefecture, criticized the government for a policy that he said left him "in a state of limbo" and "stole the better part of my life."