MR. YUZURU YOKOYAMA

Professor of the School of Social Welfare, Hokusei Gakuen University in Sapporo, Japan

PhD degree of Social Welfare; Working on social issues and mythology, discrimination and human rights issues, and social work values and ethics; He served as a chair of the Department of Social Work, the School of Social Welfare at Hokusei Gakuen University from April 2004 to March 2006. 

Abstract of Paper “Human Rights of the People with Hansen’s Disease in Japan”      

In Japan, about 3,000 people with Hansen’s disease at present in the national Hansen’s disease medical institution have been suffering from the prejudice and the discrimination against by the Japanese society. The Japanese government is now planning to reorganize the medical and living facility for the people with Hansen’s disease due to the decreasing number of the people with Hansen’s disease in the national Hansen’s disease medical institution.  

The national association of people with Hansen’s disease is making effort to establish the fundamental (basic) law of the Hansen’s disease in order to protect their human rights such as the right of receiving medical care and guarantee social and life security permanently.    

In order to establish the above law, it is necessary to reach consensus and agreement among the Japanese ordinary citizens. And it requires a promotion of understanding the importance of protecting human rights of the people with Hansen’s disease. Since the average age of the people with Hansen’s disease is reaching 80 years old, we need to establish the above fundamental law as early as possible.