CIA The World Factbook

YI: Leprosy is still - in this 21st century - a mystery disease. I don't think there's enough information about it and that's why people tend discriminate against leprosy patients, like your father's friend. What is being done? Are there any scientific discoveries on leprosy that the world can know about so that we don't have this discrimination?

Yohei Sasakawa: People discriminating against other people still exists in this world on a daily basis. I feel this is really the fault of society and yes, the right information needs to be given to the people of the world about this disease called leprosy. I once visited Indonesia and met an old lay who was living alone. I asked her if she didn't want to go home and she said no, because her family would be stigmatized by her presence. In Japan too, families of leprosy-affected people do not accept them. This is still the sad reality today.
Today leprosy is curable and with early detection the patient will not be deformed like in the olden days. All over the world, the cure is available free of charge. Therefore, I feel that with this development all these tragedies should be dramatically reduced. Since the 1980s, 16 million patients have been cured, but they still meet with discrimination and are not accepted back into society. For example in India, many leprosy-affected people must beg for a living. This is very unfortunate and wrong.
I myself have taken two approaches to this issue. One is to appeal to international organizations, specifically the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Japanese government has also decided to take this issue of leprosy to the Human Rights Council, putting it on the official agenda. Ultimately, I would like to see this become a United Nations General Assembly resolution helping each member state to come up with guidelines to disseminate the correct information to educate the people about this disease.
The second approach I am taking is to help the leprosy-affected people who have recovered from the disease but who still live quietly in the deserts, in the valleys, where no one else can see them, because otherwise, they would be stigmatized. So, I have decided to help them come out and organize themselves, to stand up and speak out. It is through such grassroots work that I am organizing cured leprosy patients themselves to educate the world about the disease.
Of course, a lot of people ask, is that possible? I just feel that we need to act if we want to achieve something. And I firmly believe that we can succeed.

YI: The World Health Organization has named you Goodwill Ambassador for the Elimination of Leprosy. Does this mean that you have to travel around the world and tell people that leprosy is no longer a terrible disease, and not to discriminate?

Yohei Sasakawa: To be honest with you, I really don't like the name goodwill ambassador, because there are many goodwill ambassadors in our society today. And these goodwill ambassadors come out for different events that international organizations organize. But the battle to eliminate leprosy is not like that. We have to go to the remotest areas, let's say Africa or India. We must be on the frontlines, where the battles take place. And we must appeal to the top leaders and ministries of health of the country we visit. Only then, with their involvement, will we succeed. My way of doing things is to work quietly, with patience and continuous effort until all people understand.

YI:I think a more appropriate word to describe you than Goodwill Ambassador is Quiet Crusader.

Yohei Sasakawa: Maybe I shouldn't be using that word crusader, because that might upset the Muslim people.

YI:The word crusader means a fighter. It goes beyond religion. And what you are doing is extraordinary. Few people, as you rightly mention, consider this as a priority. Yet people are suffering.

Yohei Sasakawa:This is what I am presently thinking that if I may succeed with this leprosy, we will be able to contribute to solving many other serious problems that exist in the international community. Therefore my way of fighting leprosy is the way I have chosen, for example it is something I have applied to solving the Singapore-Malacca Straits problem, that we gather together the stakeholders in the private sector to establish an international mechanism. I firmly believe that the problems of mankind should be and can be solved by ourselves. The issue is how we solve them. Therefore with success stories we can present case studies.

YI: What you are doing is really setting an example and beyond leprosy, beyond maritime issues, what as chairman of the Nippon Foundation, will be your projects in the years to come?

Yohei Sasakawa: Our foundation today is involved in a wide area of activities. I firmly believe that whoever we are, wherever we are, every human being should have three good meals a day. Having been born right after World War II, I know what it's like to go without food. And so, starting from that concept, I have been involved in helping people increase their food production. For the past 20 years, my foundation has been involved in teaching poor farmers how to increase their productivity. The second area that I did not mention earlier is that of public health. I feel that there are many people who are suffering from different diseases and the aftermath of disasters and it is as important to help those people. Of course, one major issue that we are involved in globally, and which I seriously believe needs help, is the development of human resources. We have been helping in building primary schools and our support goes all the way up to higher education; even to people in doctoral programs around the world. This involves different sectors of society. I feel that with human resource development, a country can become prosperous, peaceful and very stable. I have dedicated my life towards this goal.

YI: In your many travels to India did you ever come across Mother Theresa? She seems to have done almost the same activities.

Yohei Sasakawa:Mother Theresa was a wonderful woman, a religious figure. Once with Sonia Gandhi, I visited Mother Theresa's hospital. I feel that she does good work and what she does is very important, but I feel that in my case the government has to be involved. It is not easy but you have to keep on pushing to ensure the government's involvement.

YI:What you've have told us today has been very informative, enlightening and inspiring. So thank you very much for your time and we wish you all the best in all that you do.

Yohei Sasakawa:Thank you.