A panel exhibition organized by locals is being held in Higashimurayama City to help children understand the history of Hansen's disease patients and their families suffering from discrimination and prejudice.
At elementary and junior high schools in Higashimurayama City, where people who have recovered from Hansen's disease live, we are working on understanding Hansen's disease and providing education to eliminate prejudice and discrimination.
This panel exhibition was opened by locals who continue to interact with people who have recovered from leprosy so that children can think more deeply, and the actual situation of discrimination heard is introduced with photographs.
Of these, in the panel on the so-called "Kikuchi Incident," in which a man who was suspected of having Hansen's disease in the 1955's was charged with murder and executed while complaining of innocence, he was forced by national policy. It details that he was quarantined in a sanatorium and that the trial was held in a sanatorium or prison where the general public rarely goes in and out, which is called a "special court" because of "risk of infection". ..
On this day, a local elementary school student visited and after seeing the panel, it was judged for the first time last year that the "special court" of the "Kikuchi case" was unconstitutional, and the movement to redo the trial is still ongoing. I also heard an explanation of the current situation.
Tsubasa Aikawa (31), one of the organizers of this panel exhibition, said, "By learning about the Kikuchi incident, society as a whole was involved in discrimination against leprosy patients and ex-patients, and discrimination against infectious diseases was a problem. Now that it is, I want you to think about the Hansen's disease problem with a sense of ownership. "
This panel exhibition is being held at the Central Public Hall in Higashimurayama City until the 15th of this month.