Human Rights Violations Confirmed at Leprosy Sanatorium

Setouchi, Okayama Pref., Nov. 24 (Jiji Press)--National Sanatorium Oku-Komyoen for leprosy patients in western Japan committed serious human rights violations by performing autopsies on many residents without consent, a team investigating the matter said Thursday.

"It cannot be considered that proper consent had been obtained. There were grave human rights violations," said a report released by the team including lawyers.

The probe began after autopsy records for 1,123 residents of the sanatorium in Setouchi, Okayama Prefecture, were found in 2020.

According to the report, 1,674 residents died in the facility between 1938 and 1998, and autopsies were performed on 1,184 of them, about 70 pct of the total.

The very high percentage is inconceivable at ordinary medical institutions, the report said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]