At the 13 national sanatoriums for Hansen’s disease patients across Japan, the average age of residents has exceeded 88, and the movement led by former patients seeking the restoration of their human rights is gradually approaching its end.
Although the prejudice and discrimination against them brought on by the government’s prior segregation policy persist, the memories of their hardships are now fading in society. To ensure that lessons learned from the misguided policy are passed on to future generations, former patients are speaking up about their experiences.
Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy, is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. It doesn’t spread easily and is fully curable with appropriate treatment. However, the Japanese government maintained a forced segregation policy for nearly 90 years until the Leprosy Prevention Law was abolished in 1996.
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