I Test Positive for COVID-19 While in Portugal

From late June to early July, I traveled to Baku, Azerbaijan, and Lisbon, Portugal.　

On June 24 in Baku, I joined the True Colors Festival, which showcased the diverse talents of artists with disabilities to mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Azerbaijan.

The Nippon Foundation has presented this festival of performing arts throughout Asia since 2006 in celebration of diversity and inclusion under the banner “One World One Family.”

On June 27 I arrived in Lisbon to attend the United Nations Ocean Conference, co-hosted by the governments of Portugal and Kenya.

At the side event on the Blue Economy, co-sponsored by the government of Palau and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, I gave a speech in the presence of President Surangel S. Whipps, Jr. of Palau, Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama of Fiji and other dignitaries.

In the conference hall, I saw no one wearing a face mask. Reluctantly, I pocketed mine.

In the afternoon of June 28, I took a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for the novel coronavirus at a local clinic called Joaquim Chaves Saude. Early the following morning, I was informed that I had tested positive for COVID-19. I have no idea where and how I contracted it.

Of the five speeches I had planned for the rest of the ocean conference, I let Mr. Mitsuyuki Unno, executive director of The Nippon Foundation, read three on my behalf. I also cancelled all the meetings I had planned with leaders of various countries in the Portuguese capital.

I went into a week-long quarantine in my small hotel room. To keep in shape, I wanted to do some exercises in preparation for my plan to climb Mt. Fuji in August, but there was not enough space.

Over more than four decades, I have made almost 550 overseas trips on my mission to eliminate leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, and the associated stigma and discrimination. My travels have taken me from the Amazon rainforest to the heart of the Africa. But I have never had an experience like this.

I came back to Tokyo on July 7, a week later than planned. I had a packed schedule for that week, so I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for any inconvenience my enforced absence caused.