Tag - health

 
 

HEALTH

As the world marks World No Tobacco Day on Friday, debate is growing over passive smoking in one crucial space that remains unregulated: private homes.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 30, 2024
In Japan, neighborly debates light up over secondhand smoke
Passive smoking has become a concern because many people live in multiunit apartment buildings or small houses with little space between them.
Plaintiffs and lawyers march to the Supreme Court to attend a hearing on lawsuits against the government over forced sterilization carried out under a now-defunct eugenic law, on Wednesday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 29, 2024
Victims of forced sterilization speak of their suffering at Supreme Court
They are seeking compensation from the government over their forced sterilization due to their disabilities under a now-defunct eugenic law.
Health ministry officials enter Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's plant in the city of Osaka for inspection on March 30.
JAPAN
May 29, 2024
Two more unexpected compounds found in beni kōji supplements
The two compounds are believed to have been created by contamination of blue mold.
The health ministry says it will conduct its first survey on how much foreign residents are paying in health insurance and pension premiums.
JAPAN / Society
May 28, 2024
Health ministry to collect data on insurance premium payments by foreign residents
The ministry currently has no data on how much foreign nationals are paying in terms of health insurance payments and pension premiums.
Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome can be caused by bacteria called group A streptococcus.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 27, 2024
STSS infections growing at record pace in Japan
The patient tally this year had reached 851 as of May 12, with the figure being 2.8 times higher than a year before.
A lawyer representing a consumer organization speaks during a meeting held to call for stricter regulations on "functional foods," in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN
May 24, 2024
Mandatory reporting of 'functional food' health problems proposed
The Consumer Affairs Agency panel discussed reforms in response to health problems caused by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical supplement products.
The latest findings by University of Tokyo researchers raise hopes that the disease may be treated if doctors can identify people who will develop Alzheimer’s before its onset.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 23, 2024
Japanese researchers confirm blood test predicts risk of Alzheimer's
The latest study raises hopes that if doctors can identify who might be at risk of developing Alzheimer’s beforehand, it could be treated early.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (right) views My Number card readers during an inspection of Nihonkai General Hospital in Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
May 19, 2024
Kishida inspects hospital in northeastern Japan
The Prime Minister said that it's important to increase the use of the My Number cards in order to offer better medical services.

A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2024
America wasn’t made for walking, and it’s killing them
A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
The National Cancer Center Hospital in Tokyo
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 15, 2024
Rare kidney cancer mutation found in 70% of Japan patients, study shows
Its cause of the mutation, found in a type of cancer also prevalent in parts of Europe, is unclear, prompting scientists to consider unknown factors.
Even a slightly high blood pressure raises the risk of strokes and other diseases, a study finds.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 14, 2024
Even slightly high blood pressure ups vascular disease risks
According to the Japanese Society of Hypertension, the country has an estimated 43 million hypertension patients.
An employee at Otsuka Foods has filed a damages suit against the company with the Otsu District Court in Shiga Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 14, 2024
Otsuka Foods whistleblower sues company for work-related depression
The man has claimed he suffered from depression after being reassigned and given little work following a report over the company's alleged wrongdoing.
The H5N1 bird flu virus, which has been found in cattle, is a pathogen that has loomed large in the minds of infectious disease experts for its potential to cause a deadly human pandemic.
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2024
The bird flu outbreak brings more questions than answers
This is a pathogen that has loomed large in the minds of infectious disease experts for its potential to cause a deadly human pandemic.
Pasco Shikishima has recalled 104,000 packs of its white Chojuku bread after parts of a rat's body were discovered in two of them.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 9, 2024
Japan bread recalled after rat parts found inside packs
Pasco Shikishima has recalled over 100,000 packets of its processed white Chojuku bread and suspended the assembly line that produces it pending a probe.
A member of staff at Momuri responds to a request for assistance in submitting a resignation in Tokyo on April 18.
JAPAN / Society
May 8, 2024
Japan's workers turning to agencies that help them quit jobs
One firm that provides such a service saw the highest-ever number of requests following the long Golden Week holiday.
Medical workers take care of a COVID-19 patient on a mechanical ventilator, in a negative pressure room in an intensive care unit at St. Marianna University School of Medicine Yokohama City Seibu Hospital in Yokohama in August 2021.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 8, 2024
Many still face COVID aftereffects a year after assessment downgrade
As there is no cure yet for long-lasting symptoms, doctors are calling on people to continue taking infection preventative measures.
Cold medicine packages at a drug store. Japan has faced unseasonal and larger-than-usual outbreaks of infectious diseases over the past year after the COVID-19's downgrade to the same level as flu.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 7, 2024
Anti-infection measures still needed, one year after COVID-19 downgrade
Despite the drop in COVID-19 cases, childhood infectious diseases and the flu have spread in the country over the past year.
While a new Alzheimer’s test offers hope for early intervention, it also raises complex ethical and practical questions about its implementation and potential impact on individuals' lives.
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2024
Do you really want to find out if you'll get Alzheimer's?
Would you want to know there’s something going wrong in your brain — even if there’s no cure?
A staff member works at the animation studio Shake Hands in Kyoto on Jan. 24. The studio aims to provide job training and confidence to people with autism.
JAPAN / Society
May 5, 2024
Anime studio draws on talent of autistic artists
The groundbreaking initiative aims to provide job training and confidence to people with autism.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference at WHO headquarters in Geneva in July 2020.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 4, 2024
'Get this done,' WHO chief urges pandemic accord talks
World Health Organization member states have spent the last two years drafting an international accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’