Doctor hits immigration center health care
The Japan Times: Nov. 16, 2004
Dr. Junpei Yamamura has visited the Higashi-Nihon Immigration Center in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, once a month...charges that foreigners without visas and people seeking asylum held at the center receive poor medical care, and some are suffering serious illnesses during their protracted detention.
He submitted a report last week to the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau on the health conditions of the detainees he saw between August 2003 and last September....
...Illnesses suffered by the detainees included gastritis, duodenal ulcer, hypertension and -- the most common ailment, affecting 12 inmates -- herniated disks, Yamamura said, terming their medical care often inadequate.
Yamamura stressed that the biggest problem is that the medical care at the center and other immigration facilities tends to focus on whether the people there can endure detention -- instead of considering their welfare.
The detainees should be given access to treatment by a third party without government influence, he said.
