Oct. 31, 2009 (The Yomiuri Shimbun) -- SENDAI--The only doctor on a small island in Miyagi Prefecture left his position as hospital director at the island's only medical institution Friday to move back to the mainland.

Toshiaki Yasuda was single-handedly responsible for the medical care of the 500 residents of Ajishima island off the prefecture's Ojika Peninsula.

Yasuda, 50, was revered by the islanders during his 10-year stint at Amisho hospital as a "friendly godlike figure."

Yasuda saw about 30 patients on his final day. One of them, an elderly person, joked, "My blood pressure's gone up because you're leaving." Silence, however, soon swallowed up the laughter.

Isamu Saotome, director of Tochinoki Hospital in Tochigi Prefecture, established the hospital in September 1999 at the site of a disused primary school to "return a favor." Saotome's second son, who had played truant from his previous school, managed to complete middle school at the site of a hospital's convalescence home on the island and decided to go on to high school.

Yasuda, who became a doctor after working as a company employee, was selected as the new hospital's full-time doctor.

"He's a friendly godlike figure who would listen and advise the elderly," one islander said.

Yasuda made the decision to move to Sendai, where his family lives, because an elderly doctor he knew asked him for support.

"We all wanted him to stay, but we had to accept his decision," said Kiyoo Ono, 71, head of an administrative district on the island.

From here on, Yasuda and several other doctors from Tochinoki Hospital will be dispatched in turn to take care of the Amisho hospital. Yasuda works on the island once a week.

"At first, I thought I'd only be here for a couple of years, but thanks to the kind nature of the residents, my stay stretched out for 10 years," Yasuda said.

On the 10th anniversary of the hospital in September, the islanders sent Yasuda a card expressing their gratification for his service.