Meaning of the Enactment of the Communicable Disease Prevention Law of 1897 from the Viewpoint of Bureaucrats in Charge of Public Health Administration in the Meiji Era

Abstract

This article takes up the issue of public health law, especially the meaning of the Communicable Disease Prevention Law of 1897 from the viewpoint of bureaucrats for the law and administration; Sensai Nagayo (1838-1902) and Shinpei Goto (1857-1929) who played an active part during prewar Japan. In Japan, public health laws were necessary to establish public health administration, especially by Nagayo and his colleagues who had gained some ideas of such administration from European models during the Meiji era. Nagayo is famous as the first director of the Central Sanitary Bureau and he had some idea about seimu-teki unyo (application on policies) of medical science and some associated sciences (e.g., science, engineering, meteorology, statistics, etc.). While he was engaged in the cholera pandemic from 1877, he focused on self-governing public health and medical police to make effective use of expert knowledge for public health. Consequently, he put forward that cooperation between government and citizens was important. Nagayo focused on establishing the administration, and his endeavor was taken over by Goto who proved worthy of Nagayo's expectations. Goto was born in Iwate prefecture and he started his life as a doctor in Nagoya in Aichi prefecture. He was interested in disease prevention in a similar manner to Nagayo, as well as medical treatment. So he drew up a document for the establishment of medical officers who would work to prevent diseases in Aichi prefecture. After he gave it Nagayo, he acquired a position in public health administration at the bureau in 1883. While Goto endeavored to perform practical work of public health administration, he published books, including kokka-eisei-genri (The Principles of the National Hygienic System) in 1889 and eisei-seido-ron (Hygiene System Theory) in 1890. From these books we can acquire knowledge of Goto's viewpoint on public health administration to prevent infectious diseases with effect through some words such as eisei-keisatsu (medical police) or sinji-sha (technical officers for public health and medicine), and so on. Goto understood it was necessary to respect local customs and to exercise power or authority for public health. And he talked about how it was important to use specialized knowledge which Shinji-sha or medical doctors had. He thought they could contribute to the legislation of laws using their knowledge to promote people's health. Goto had realized that policies on the specialized knowledge of shinji-sha or medical doctors had to be applied effectively to citizens to give shape to his idea, but he perceived that the responsibility to promote people's health at local level was not clear and that new laws and regulations were necessary. So he worked diligently on legistlation of a new law. This newly legislated law was the Communicable Disease Prevention Law of 1897 which was applied until the Act on Prevention of Infectious Disease and Medical Care for Patients Suffering Infectious Diseases of 1998 was enacted.