Photo/Illutration Many residents developed asthma caused by air pollutants emitted from petrochemical complexes in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, shown here in August 1967. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

YOKKAICHI, Mie Prefecture--Residents here who have for decades suffered the stigma of having a disease named after their city are urging politicians to stop saying the “Wuhan virus” in the current pandemic.

They say that attaching a place name to a disease leads to discrimination.

In the 1960s, many Yokkaichi residents developed asthma caused by air pollutants released from petrochemical complexes in the city, and they filed a lawsuit against the companies.

The disorder became known as “Yokkaichi asthma,” and the name still haunts residents in the city.

A Yokkaichi resident in her 40s called the city assembly to protest the “Wuhan virus” remarks made by the assembly chairman, who was referring to the Chinese city where the contagion is believed to have originated.

“During a high school trip, I was hurt when I was told, ‘Oh, I know that city. It’s Yokkaichi asthma, isn’t it?’” the resident said. “Two decades or so later, my daughter experienced the same thing. The negative impact (of the name of the disease) will not go away so easily.”

Satoru Morooka, the assembly chairman, had posted his thoughts on the novel coronavirus on his Facebook account.

“It’s much easier to remember if we call it ‘Wuhan virus,’” he said in one post. “It’s not a discriminatory term. On what grounds would I be stigmatizing (Wuhan)?”

In his March 15 post, he said, “I’ll keep calling it Wuhan virus.”

The term has also been used at the national level.

“It’s about the virus that originated from Wuhan,” Finance Minister Taro Aso said at the Upper House Financial Affairs Committee on March 10. “The name of the virus comes with the word ‘new,’ but I think it should be called ‘Wuhan virus.’”

Some other Diet members have made similar remarks, saying the source of infections should be specified in the name of the virus.

Under guidelines released in 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) said naming a virus after a country or region should be avoided to prevent attacks against a certain area or ethnic group.

In February, the WHO named the disease caused by the new coronavirus “COVID-19,” a combination of the name of the virus and the year the outbreak started.

Mitsuo Ito, 74, is a member of a civic group that studies and informs people about the history of the pollution as well as promotes measures to help revitalize the city. He pointed out that associating an illness with the name of the affected area significantly reinforces prejudice.

“The role of politicians should be eliminating prejudice,” Ito said.

At a March 26 news conference after a regular assembly session, Morooka was asked about his previous “Wuhan virus” posts on Facebook.

“Discrimination should not be tolerated, but it’s wrong to say we shouldn’t use a certain word just because it encourages prejudice,” he said. “That will lead to language policing and make us feel uneasy.”

He also expressed a similar view on the expression “Yokkaichi asthma.”

Takuya Kumamoto, a member of the Aichi Bar Association who specializes in issues of hate speech, warned that politicians should pay extra attention to their behavior at times like this because their insensitive remarks could incite discrimination.

He cited the history of diseases whipping up fears and discrimination, such as the human rights violations of leprosy patients.

“Politicians should strictly refrain from associating a disease with a particular region and making comments that imply people from there pose danger to others,” Kumamoto said. “Once the politicians make such comments, the view could be justified and create a risk that citizens may join in promoting discrimination.”