Photo/Illutration The outer wall of Kikuchi-Keifuen, a national sanitarium for leprosy patients in Kumamoto Prefecture, in May 2013 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Nearly 40 percent of leprosy patients are still living under false names to shield themselves and their families from prejudice and discrimination, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed.

According to the survey covering residents’ associations of 13 national sanitariums, 1,001 people were living at the facilities as of May 1, and their average age was 87.

Overall, 380, or 38 percent, of them said they live under false names. And at least 313 people re-entered the sanitariums after returning to society.

The residents’ association at the Amami-Wakoen in Amami, Kagoshima Prefecture, suspended its activities, so the sanitarium answered the survey on behalf of the residents.

A law enacted in 1953 that forcibly isolated leprosy patients at sanitariums was abolished in 1996. At the time, 5,413 people were living in such facilities.

The Kumamoto District Court in 2001 ruled that the central government’s segregation policy was unconstitutional.

But the survey revealed that many patients whose social ties were cut because of the policy still find it difficult to recover from the damages.

The 380 residents said they changed their names when they entered sanitariums in consideration of their families, who were subjected to discrimination. They have kept using the same false names.

When The Asahi Shimbun conducted a similar survey five years ago, the ratio was also 38 percent.

At the Kikuchi-Keifuen sanitarium in Kumamoto Prefecture, 97 residents were using fake names.

Its residents’ association said they have not reverted to their real names because “they are worried about discrimination against their family members in terms of marriage prospects and job searching.”

The association said some residents “will not even say where their hometown is.”

At the Kuriu-Rakusenen sanitarium in Gunma Prefecture, 38 residents, or more than half of all patients, were using false names.

“They have used the names for more than half a century and have gotten used to them. They cannot go back to their real names anymore,” its residents’ association said.

The 313 people who have re-entered sanitariums since the leprosy prevention law was abolished included short-term residents.

But many said they returned because they found it difficult to “go to a neighborhood hospital and explain their medical history.” Some said they did not have family members or relatives whom they could rely on.

The residents’ associations, consisting of sanitarium residents, have demanded the central government provide better treatment.

But nine associations said it is “difficult to maintain activities” because the number of residents is declining and they are aging.

Some associations have sought support from human rights groups.

About 30 leprosy patients are “storytellers.” But the novel coronavirus pandemic has limited training sessions and touring events for people at the facilities.

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