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The mortality rate of junior high school graduates is around 1.4 times higher than that of those who graduated from universities, according to a survey by the National Cancer Center Japan, indicating that risk factors differ depending on education level.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 28, 2024

Estimated mortality rates by education level released in Japan

A gap between junior high school graduates and those who went through higher education has been found.
Among those who experienced physical abuse from their spouses or partners, 12.6% said they felt that their lives were in danger, according to the government survey conducted late last year.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 27, 2024

Record 1 in 5 in Japan report partner abuse, government survey shows

Among married couples, the rate is even higher at 1 in 4.
A U.S. military Osprey aircraft flies over the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in the center of the city of Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, in August 2022.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 30, 2024

Japan designates U.S. bases in Okinawa as security-linked sites

The government has designated 184 sites in 28 of the country's 47 prefectures as critical to national security in the fourth round of such designations.
Under the revised labor standards law, annual overtime will be capped at 960 hours for truck drivers and 720 hours for construction workers.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2024

New work-style reform measures kick off in Japan

It is feared the new caps will cause shortages of workers, making it difficult to maintain services.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako speak with evacuees at a junior high school serving as an evacuation shelter in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on March 22.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 1, 2024

Japan's imperial family makes Instagram debut

More than 180,000 people have followed the Imperial Household Agency account.
The Justice Ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 1, 2024

Japan puts new legitimacy presumption rules into effect

The new Civil Code will allow mothers and children to be able to file for a denial of legitimacy.
Ayuko Kato, minister for policies related to children, speaks at a parliament session on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 2, 2024

One year on, Japan's children agency struggles to show leadership

The agency is facing challenges to demonstrate leadership, unable to move forward with unprecedented measures to combat the declining birthrate.
People ride bikes without wearing helmets in Tokyo in March 2023, just before a law revision over helmet wearing on April 1 that year.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2024

One year after road law revision, few cyclists in Japan wear helmets

The helmet wearing rate among cyclists killed or injured in accidents between April and December 2023 was 14.7%, the National Police Agency said.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 3, 2024

Tokyo police confirm death of North Korea abduction suspect

Kim Kil Uk, was on the international wanted list for the June 1980 abduction of Tadaaki Hara.
A traditional Ainu preserved food called "satchep" (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25
JAPAN / Society
Apr 3, 2024

Japan academic society apologizes to Ainu people

It is the first time that an academic society in Japan or abroad has apologized to the Ainu people, according to the Ainu Association of Hokkaido.
Warnings have been issued for people to safely use household appliances, including gas stoves.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2024

Warnings issued for household safety in Japan's new fiscal year

The guidelines aim to raise awareness on product safety and mitigate potential risks surrounding household appliances.
The National Police Agency has found that about 80% of crime victims in Japan have not received damages from perpetrators or state benefits.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 4, 2024

80% of crime victims in Japan are not receiving damages or benefits

Only 1.3% of victims received assistance from lawyers in negotiating with perpetrators.
According to the children's agency’s estimate, those with an annual income of ¥2 million will see an additional tax levy of ¥350 to support new child care provision, while those with incomes of ¥6 million will pay an extra ¥1,000.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 10, 2024

Japan to collect monthly average of ¥800 for child care boost

The exact amount for each individual will vary depending on income and public health insurance plans.
Yuko Kishida, wife of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and U.S. first lady Jill Biden listen to students read poetry during an event with local high school students at a White House library in Washington on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2024

Kishida's wife meets with U.S. high school students

The Japanese first lady also participated in a tea ceremony with people promoting Japan-U.S. exchanges and a national cherry blossom festival event.
There are cases in which families become so engrossed in caring for their children that they do not get adequate sleep and nutrition, according to a survey.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 12, 2024

Over 40% of Japan hospitals require family to stay with children, survey says

Some families become so engrossed in caring for their children that they jeopardize their own health, according to the survey.
A survey of the 6,975 products with the functional food label was initiated by the government last month following the scandal over Kobayashi Pharmaceuticals’ beni kōji supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 12, 2024

Probe finds 18 functional food products with past reports of health damage in Japan

The survey results come as the industry reels from deaths linked to Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's beni kōji supplements.
A special subgroup of the Central Council for Education, which advises the education minister, is examining boosting teachers' adjustment allowances, currently set at 4% of monthly salary, as part of measures to improve conditions at public schools.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 13, 2024

Japan considering first hike in teachers' overtime pay in 50 years

There has been a proposal for raising the allowances to 10% of monthly salary or even higher, sources have said.
Noto Airport in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2024

Japan to revise guidelines for airport operators in times of disaster

The BCP revisions come on the heels of the 7.6-magnitude earthquake that hit the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 1.
Japan and other countries are holding annual talks on saury catch quota.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2024

Japan and eight other countries discuss saury catch rules

Slated to run until Thursday, the talks will focus on setting calculation rules to allocate catch quotas.
Black bears have been added to the list of "designated wildlife species for control" by the Environment Ministry.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2024

Japan adds black and brown bears to subsidized hunting list

The government is stepping up the control measures as bear attacks on humans hit a record high in fiscal 2023 that ended in March.
A bill on joint custody passes during a Lower House plenary session in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 16, 2024

Bill allowing joint custody after divorce clears Japan's Lower House

The move would bring Japan closer to adopting a practice seen in other countries.
Japan's parliament has enacted a bill to ease restrictions on Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, including lifting a ban on being able to appoint non-Japanese directors.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2024

Japan enacts revised NTT law

NTT will be allowed to allocate less than one-third of the seats in its board of directors to foreign nationals.
A bill on expanding legal support for crime victims clears the Lower House on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 18, 2024

Japan enacts bill to help crime victims

The bill to revise the comprehensive legal support law was approved unanimously at a plenary session of the House of Representatives.
Members of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission have agreed to cut the 2024 catch quota for saury in the high seas in the northern Pacific in response to declining resources.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2024

Japan and others agree to cut northern Pacific saury catch quota

Nine economies agreed to introduce the rule to calculate catch quotas based on scientific evidence.
Former Prime Minister Taro Aso speaks during a forum in Taiwan in 2023.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 19, 2024

Former PM Aso seeks Trump meeting during New York visit: report

Aso had attempted to meet Trump in January during a trip to the U.S. but was not able to see him.
The NanoTerasu facility uses special X-rays to enable researchers to analyze at the nanometer level the properties and functions of materials that cannot be identified with the naked eye.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 22, 2024

NanoTerasu accelerator goes into operation in northeastern Japan

The technology is expected to be used in research in a wide range of areas, from food to medicine.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday marked 932 days in office, tying with Ryutaro Hashimoto as the eighth-longest-serving prime minister in postwar Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 22, 2024

Kishida is now postwar Japan's eighth-longest-serving PM

Victory in the LDP's presidential election in autumn will put him in the running to surpass Nobusuke Kishi, who held office for 1,241 days.
Voters listen to a speech by a candidate for a Lower House seat in the upcoming Tokyo No. 15 district by-election.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 23, 2024

CDP-backed candidates seen leading in all three Japan by-elections

Candidates backed by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan are in the lead ahead of three by-elections.
Tokyo observed the first "extremely hot day" of the season on July 10, 2023, when the temperature hit 36.5 degrees. A new heatstroke alert system will be put in place on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 23, 2024

Japan to put special alert system for heatstroke in place

The Environment Ministry will put in place a special alert system for heatstroke to protect people from unprecedented heat.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a meeting for Noto Peninsula reconstruction at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2024

Japan OKs ¥138.9 billion in fresh spending over Noto quake

This will be the fourth round of spending from the state reserve funds for the quake-affected areas in central Japan.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?