
National / Social Issues Sep 25, 2017
Number of middle-aged, first-time fathers on the rise in Japan
More men in Japan are waiting until middle age to start fatherhood but find that their greater experience can help offset some of the worries.
For Sawako Obara's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
More men in Japan are waiting until middle age to start fatherhood but find that their greater experience can help offset some of the worries.
While women have long been the main caregivers for elderly parents in Japan, the country's rapidly aging population, coupled with the prevalence of smaller families in recent generations, has resulted in more men taking on the responsibility. Among them are a growing number of men ...
Nursing care schools have seen a surge in the number of foreign students following a legal amendment making it easier for prospective caregivers to acquire resident status in rapidly graying Japan. The rise in foreign students training to become caregivers is a boon for schools. ...
Unlike many new graduates, Issei Iimura won't feel too nervous next spring when he begins working at Asatsu-DK Inc., a major advertising company in Tokyo. That's because university senior Iimura, 22, got not only a job at the company but also a mentor, Shotaro Nieda, ...
With the rapid aging of Japan's population, healthy older people are providing indispensable support for the nursing care of their fellow seniors. Setsuko Kawaguchi, 65, works three to four days a week at the Ikoi no Mori nursing care facility in Tsu, Mie Prefecture. Starting ...
As the government pushes flexible working arrangements under its labor market reforms, more and more firms are letting employees take on second jobs. Struggling with a labor shortage, such companies seek to secure talented human resources by allowing employees more flexibility in their work. Some also ...
Food drives, volunteer activities to stockpile, donate and distribute food to needy people, are increasing in Japan as poverty expands. "There are people supported by the food you donate," reads a message on the Kizuna (bond) Box in the corner of a supermarket in Ushiku, ...
Applying makeup may halt the progress of dementia among elderly people, helping keep their brains active, recent studies say. Cosmetic therapy also appears to be effective in treating depression in younger people and stress. In 2013 Shiseido Co., the nation's largest cosmetics firm, launched what it ...
Standing before about 140 high school students, Subaru Yamashita describes how he is physically and emotionally male and that he is attracted to men. "There is more than just male or female when it comes to a person's physical and mental genders, and what sex ...
Women who have spent years away from the office raising children are enrolling in specialized job-training programs, hoping these can help them re-enter the workforce. One such course, Kwansei Gakuin University's "Happy Career Program," has seen women with university degrees ranging in age from their ...