Press Conference in Kathmandu, Nepal

Your Excellency Prem Ale, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Your Excellency Yutaka Kikuta, the Japanese Ambassador to Nepal, Santa Bir Lama, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, members of the press, thank you for attending this press conference today. I am Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of The Nippon Foundation and Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination for the World Health Organization. Please let me begin with a personal greeting to President Santa. It has been too long since we met, but the aid that you have provided to the leprosy elimination effort has been invaluable.

As you know, Nepal and Japan have a long history of good relations. I myself have come here time and again, particularly in the interest of eliminating leprosy. Elimination is considered to have been achieved when there is an incidence of less than one person in ten thousand in a country. Though faced with many difficulties, thanks to the cooperation of the Ministry of Health and Population, the Nepal Mountaineering Association, and you members of the press, we have achieved that goal in Nepal. I remember visiting your country when it achieved elimination, as if it were only yesterday.

During the push to eliminate the disease, we also received invaluable cooperation from President Santa. Without his help, the elimination of leprosy in Nepal would have been impossible. President Santa is also very famous in Japan. He, along with the Emperor of Japan, is a member of The Japanese Alpine Club. I have received a strong request from President Santa for aid in solving the many difficult issues currently posed by the coronavirus. The Nippon Foundation conducts many humanitarian efforts around the world, but given the long history of friendly relations between Japan and Nepal, we believe that it is only natural that we provide support at this time.

We are thus providing about two-hundred and ten thousand U.S. dollars, and sincerely hope that it will contribute to your prevention effort, thus saving the life of even one patient. I pray for the day that the coronavirus is completely eliminated from Nepal. In a perfect world, I would be addressing you in person today, but the current situation unfortunately prevents me from visiting Nepal. However, as soon as the pandemic has abated, I want to go to your country to be reunited with my old friends. I ask that you use this support as effectively as possible. Thank you.

＊This video message is available at The Nippon Foundation YouTube.