Leprosy in Japan

As of 2009, 2,600 former leprosy patients were living in 13 national sanatoriums and two private hospitals in Japan. Their mean age is 80. There were no newly diagnosed Japanese leprosy patients in 2005, but one in 2006, and one in 2007.

Hannah Riddell established the Kaishun Hospital in 1895 in Kumamoto and her activities are mentioned elsewhere. Because of the Russo-Japanese war, she was in desperate financial straits because English people stopped sending money to her because of the risks that could occur during the sending process. An important meeting was held at the Banker's Club in Tokyo, both to save her and to discuss leprosy problems facing Japan. Various leaders, including those representing the government, statesmen, and journalists, attended the meeting. The timing was good. The Japanese government had begun to take an interest in leprosy problems since they found many patients in the drafts for military service. To become strong militarily was their biggest concern at the time. The meeting was chaired by Viscount Shibuzawa, who was a leading businessman. At the meeting Kensuke Mitsuda stressed that leprosy was infectious. Finally the Japanese government, spurred by the events of the 1905 meeting, promulgated the first leprosy prevention law in 1907 and started five public sanatoriums in 1909.

All these laws were repealed in 1996.

Empress Teimei

Kensuke Mitsuda

Hannah Riddell

Mary Cornwall-Legh

Keisai Aoki

Matsuki Miyazaki

Isamu Masuda

Masako Ogawa

Masasue Suho

Ryumyo Tsunawaki

Noboru Ogasawara

Masanao Goto

Mosuke Murata

Mieko Kamiya

Kazuo Saikawa

Heibei Okamura

Suketoshi Chujo

Isamu Tajiri

Shigetaka Takashima

Fumio Hayashi

Kageyoshi Tada

Kohsaburo Iesaka

Mamoru Uchida

Shunsuke Miyake

Koh Yasuda

Taiji Nojima

Hakaru Miyagawa

Westerners who were involved in the care of leprosy patients based partly on Modernization of Medicine and Foreigners(Souda) and others

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