Japanese addicts need help, not vilification

Scandals stemming from drug, alcohol and gambling addiction have been hot topics in Japan lately. However, lack of awareness has resulted in a focus on punishment and not cure for people with problems.

Catholic social activist Tsuneo Kondo, a former drug addict, would like to change all that.

The 68-year-old has experience of addiction on both fronts: he overcame his own drug problems 30 years ago and founded the Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Center (DARC), Japan’s first private institution for helping addicts, five years later.

He pointed to the case of former finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa, who was accused of being drunk at a G7 meeting in Rome in February 2009, as an example of Japanese ignorance of addiction problems.

Nakagawa resigned and was later found dead in his apartment.

The incident in Rome “was a chance for him to get treatment, but he got torn to shreds over ethics and morality. He was cornered. I honestly think Japanese ignorance killed him.”

Other well-known cases involve actors with drug problems and Sumo wrestlers repeatedly breaking gambling laws, he said.

“When these problems emerge, that’s the time to learn and get treatment; but in Japan, the response begins and ends with punishment, no questions asked,” he said.

Aside from dealing with the criminal aspect, it is important to determine what drove people to their addiction and to help them recover, he added.

“Here, people with problems are excluded. We really are a nation without forgiveness or salvation,” he said.

DARC has more than 50 branches throughout Japan. Each collaborates with “headquarters” but are independent in their activities.

What is most important is to create “places of work” for recovering addicts, Kondo said

He says he wants to see former addicts helping those still recovering.

I want to see a new kind of nursing home set up by and for such people, with the young caring for the old, he said.

University degrees should also be introduced to foster a study of addiction.

“The purpose of DARC is to help, like missioners, wherever people are suffering [from drug addiction],” Kondo said.

JA10599.1612

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