Mental patients who are voluntarily hospitalized for treatment should in principle not be locked up, according to a report submitted Tuesday to a subcommittee of an advisory council to Health and Welfare Minister Yuya Niwa.
Although currently about half of such patients are kept behind locked doors, the report recommends new standards that would allow patients to be kept in a freer and more open environment unless they pose a risk of suicide or harm to others. In that case, doctors would be obliged to notify the patient in writing.
The health minister will make changes to specific rules by April, when a revised law on mental health welfare takes effect. Patients currently receiving isolated treatment or who are in physical confinement must be overseen by mental health specialists.