Photo/Illutration Some of the bound autopsy records found at National Sanatorium Nagashima Aiseien in Okayama Prefecture (Takuya Tanabe)

Autopsy records of 1,834 leprosy patients found at a sanatorium have raised questions about whether consent was properly obtained for these postmortem examinations.

The 32 volumes of autopsy records were discovered at National Sanatorium Nagashima Aiseien on Nagashima island in Okayama Prefecture.

The sanatorium was opened in 1930, the first of its kind in Japan, and the records found are for autopsies conducted between 1931 and 1956.

Sanatorium officials said they believe the autopsies were conducted to check for any errors in diagnoses and treatment by doctors working at the facility, as well as for further research on leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease.

However, some residents of the sanatorium said consent for the autopsies was often obtained in a questionable manner. In many cases, those who had been on friendly terms with the deceased were asked to give their consent on behalf of the dead residents.

“Doubts remain over whether the manner in which consent was obtained was appropriate,” Noriyoshi Yamamoto, the current head of the sanatorium, said. “We are considering a further investigation after consulting with current residents.”

But he said that any study would likely be difficult because many of the residents are advanced in age and few records remain from the time of the autopsies.

One legal expert said the discovered files show that conducting autopsies was a common practice at the sanatorium, noting that the records cover about 80 percent of patients who died during that period.

Moreover, until the end of 1944, autopsies were performed on about 97 percent of those who died.

The records contain the patient’s name and date of death as well as the condition of various organs. Each record runs for a number of pages.

According to sanatorium officials, the autopsy records were kept through the efforts of a part-time staff member who found the documents about a decade or so ago. A report of the study into the records was submitted to the sanatorium in late 2020.

Sanatorium officials looked into whether consent had been given for the autopsies and found that in many cases, patients agreed a few days before they died. However, one official said a major question was how consent was obtained when the resident was in a condition close to death.

A report released in 2005 by a central government committee that studied various leprosy issues stated that autopsies might have started as early as around 1920 and continued until about 1980.

Hirofumi Uchida, a professor emeritus of criminal law at Kyushu University who served as deputy chair of that government panel, said the evaluation of autopsies was insufficient because the committee had to rely on reports submitted by each national sanatorium.

He added that because it appeared consent was not given voluntarily, the autopsy records are “documents that will allow us to think about one part of the history that did not respect the human rights of leprosy sufferers.”

Yamamoto, the Aiseien head, said the autopsy records were a sign that the doctors at the time wanted to find ways to help leprosy patients.

But Uchida raised doubts about that motive. He pointed to the lack of research reports in established scientific journals based on the autopsies. He also noted that autopsies continued even after drugs were developed to cure leprosy.

“I have doubts as to whether there was a medical objective for the autopsies,” Uchida said.
He added that the central government should take the initiative to assess the extent autopsies were carried out at all national sanatoriums.

Related News