In the Sarin subway incident 26 years ago, detailed records of the victims, such as who, when, where, and what treatment they received, are not available.
Since last year, the government has started a research and research project to collect and preserve such records, saying that the lessons learned cannot be applied.
In the "subway sarin attack" by Aleph on March 20, 1995, highly poisonous sarin was sown on three lines running in Tokyo, killing 14 people and damaging about 6,300 people.
While the information on the perpetrator's side became clear through trials, etc., regarding the victim, when, where, what kind of damage was received, what kind of treatment was received, and after that, whether there was any problem with the health condition. Detailed information such as is not summarized.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare set up a research group last year to record the situation after the bipartisan parliamentary federation resolved that it would not be possible to use the lessons learned when a large-scale terrorist attack reoccurs. Started research and research for collection and preservation.
The research group first investigated the extent to which medical records of medical institutions that treated victims, firefighting activity records, police damage reports, and subway operation records were preserved.
As a result, there are only a limited number of hospitals that have been confirmed to retain medical records beyond the five-year period stipulated by law, and in the case of other institutions, the handling of personal information becomes a problem. The challenges of collecting records have also become apparent.
The research group wants to study how to solve the problems and the necessary posture toward the full-scale start of the business of collecting and storing records in the future.
Doctor who treated "Obligation to the next generation"
Toru Okumura, director of the Japan Poisoning Information Center, who is the representative of the research group of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, was one of the doctors who treated at St. Luke's International Hospital at the time of the subway sarin attack.
In the future, we would like to make the collected records widely accessible in consideration of personal information and create a mechanism to share lessons learned.
Dr. Okumura said, "It is our responsibility to the next generation to keep records. As it is now, we cannot use it as a lesson in the event of a large-scale terrorist attack, and we will know the victims and the time. As people age, it is extremely important to pass on the incident to future generations without letting it fade. In the future, the collected records will be used to support victims and to take new measures against terrorism using AI. I want you to be able to make use of it. "