【Photo Diary】 (1) Visit to Indonesia
Published on September 10, 2025
I would like to share with you some of the photographs taken during my week-long visit to Indonesia from July 5 to 11, 2025, in my capacity as honorary chair of The Nippon Foundation and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination.
In Bali, I took part in the 3rd Global Forum of People’s Organizations on Hansen’s Disease and the 22nd International Leprosy Congress (ILC) as part of my mission to achieve a world with zero leprosy, or Hansen’s disease.
I also traveled to leprosy-endemic areas in East Java Province together with Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin. The aim was to see firsthand the current state of Indonesia’s fight against the disease and talk directly with persons affected by it.
Leprosy remains a public health problem in Indonesia with 14,698 new cases detected in 2024, according to Dr. Ina Agustina Isturini, the director of Communicable Diseases of the Indonesian Health Ministry. Indonesia ranks third in terms of annual new leprosy cases after India and Brazil, accounting for 8% of all cases worldwide.
In Jakarta, I met with Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and sat in on the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and the Indonesian Ministry of Defence on launching a program of exchange visits between senior field officers of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and the Indonesian military.
[July 6, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia]
With the participants of the 3rd Global Forum of People's Organizations on Hansen's Disease at the Mercure Bali Nusa Dua Hotel. Organized by the Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen's Disease) Initiative (SLI), the event brought together over 110 representatives of organizations of persons affected by Hansen's disease from 21 countries. SLI is a strategic alliance of WHO Goodwill Ambassador Yohei Sasakawa, the Sasakawa Health Foundation and The Nippon Foundation.
They were joined by key stakeholders such as WHO, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on leprosy, supporting NGOs, the International Leprosy Congress (ILC), the International Leprosy Association (ILA) and others.
Building on previous gatherings in Manila (2019) and Hyderabad (2022), the 3rd Global Forum increased emphasis on actions taken before and after the event. This forum adopted a “people-centered approach,” placing persons affected by leprosy at its core. Held just ahead of the 22nd ILC, the forum aimed to present its outcomes to the global health community during the ILC.
(To be continued)