Spring has come in Tokyo! 🌸Here, at Leprosy sanatorium in Kiyose, Tokyo has blooming cherry blossom and rape flowers!
On 2nd of April 2017, Miyoji Morimoto, who is 79 year-old ex-patient with Leprosy (IDEA Japan) explained exhibition about Japanese Leprosy enthusiastically.
As current situation of Leprosy in Japan, the number of the story tellers, such as Mr. Morimoto, has been decreasing over the past decades. There are two reasons. First reason is ageing in the people at Leprosy sanatoriums: the average of their age is 84 (National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID). Second, the number of new patients with Leprosy in Japan is very few at only one Japanese and six foreigners living in Japan (NIID, 2015).
The Leprosy ex-patients’ stories are to be passed on next generation, but it is the fact that we are less likely to meet them and listen to their voice due to aging the population and elimination of Leprosy in Japan. Some of the Japanese currently attempt to record their real stories.