JCP Ichida urges Prime Minister Koizumi to meet leprosy lawsuit plaintiffs and ex-patients

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi on May 21 met with Chief Cabinet Secretary Fukuda Yasuo, requesting the government to not appeal the Kumamoto District Court ruling on the leprosy (Hansen's disease) lawsuit and that Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro meet former leprosy patients.

Ichida said that the leprosy lawsuit problem should be solved without delay because most of the ex-patients are more than 70 years old. The government should act in line with public opinion calling for an early settlement and accept its responsibility, said Ichida.

The number of plaintiffs is 1,702, which includes 923 who joined the plaintiffs group in Tokyo, Okayama and Kumamoto Prefectures on May 21. The plaintiffs are from all 13 national isolation centers, accounting for about 40 percent of all center residents. This shows how angry they are about the government intention to appeal. (end)