Abolition of Leprosy Isolation Policy in Japan

The termination of a policy is often considered an important step for correcting existing policies and allocating resources efficiently. Scientific advances, for example, may make the existing policy obsolete and unjustifiable. Delay in terminating a flawed policy may result in increasing its harm. In many cases, however, it is suggested that inertia and other obstacles must be overcome before a termination can be accomplished. Health policy is no exception to these findings.
The isolation of leprosy patients, a practice introduced early in this century, was maintained in Japan even after it proved scientifically unnecessary. It was only after a few decades of inertia and political struggles that the policy was abolished. As can be seen in previous studies in the other domains, a set of obstacles, such as intellectual reluctance, opposition of vested interests, and bias in expert opinions, existed, and hampered the timely termination of the isolation policy. Over a long time, policy adaptation was gradually made in practice through the loose administration of policy. It was only by the leadership of a skillful terminator that the issue was finally brought to the forefront, consensus achieved among key actors, and the policy abolished.