Search - health

 
 
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2003

Savings for 82.1 trillion yen budget eyed

Cabinet ministers agreed Thursday on key spending cuts for the next fiscal year, paving the way for the Finance Ministry to release its blueprint for the fiscal 2004 budget.
Japan Times
Events
Dec 18, 2003

U.K. journalists upbeat on economic outlook

Japan may still face some serious economic problems in the months and years to come, but the way the government and the financial authorities have handled the economy in the last 12 months mean there is today a great deal more hope for a sustainable recovery, according to five British financial journalists...
COMMENTARY
Dec 18, 2003

Conservatives smell an upset

LONDON -- A transformation has taken place on the British political scene, and it is one that could have profound effects on the wider European landscape as well as on trans-Atlantic relations. The nature of this change can be summed up in two words -- Michael Howard. This is the man who has now emerged...
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2003

Requests for SARS-related equipment ignored

The government is lagging far behind in providing hospitals with equipment to handle suspected SARS cases despite their requests for help and the fear that the deadly infectious disease may stage a comeback this winter, according to a Kyodo News survey released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2003

Blood tainted by hepatitis C used in transfusion

The Japanese Red Cross Society has confirmed the first case in which donated blood containing the hepatitis C virus passed its screening tests and was used in a blood transfusion, according to officials of the organization.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Pair sue over fatal use of banned drug

A woman who had a stillborn birth and her husband filed a lawsuit Friday seeking 35.5 million yen against a maternity clinic in Shiga Prefecture and its head for giving her a banned drug in 2000 when she was pregnant.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Prize curbs an own goal for lotto?

The National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health, which operates the J. League soccer lottery, is worried about poor ticket sales.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2003

Arroyo upbeat about FTA with Japan

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo expressed optimism Friday toward the conclusion of a free-trade agreement with Japan, as the Philippines has no intention of entering Japan's sensitive rice market.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2003

Radiation-protection measures for troops undecided: Ishiba

The government has not decided whether to take steps to protect Iraq-bound Self-Defense Forces troops against radiation contamination suspected to have been caused by U.S. and British forces, Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2003

Japan, ASEAN trio plan FTA talks but hurdles seen

Japan formally agreed Thursday to enter government-level negotiations on bilateral free-trade agreements with Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, raising its tally of ongoing FTA talks to five.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2003

Paramedics' use of defibrillators up

A legal revision allowing speedier defibrillation use has resulted in a 3.36 percentage point rise in the procedure, the outline of an annual Fire and Disaster Management Agency report showed Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2003

'Happoshu' to eclipse beer for first time

Shipments of "happoshu" for general household consumption are expected to surpass those of beer in 2003 for the first time since the low-malt beverage was launched in 1994, industry data showed Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2003

Mitsubishi Motors may sell truck unit to DaimlerChrysler

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. may sell its 42 percent stake in Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. to DaimlerChrysler AG and Mitsubishi group companies, MMC sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2003

Surrogate mom for TV star gives birth to twins

An American woman has given birth to twin boys on behalf of Japanese television celebrity Aki Mukai and her husband, former professional wrestler Nobuhiko Takada, the couple's management office said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2003

Ranks of unionized workers expected to sink below 20%

The nation's estimated unionization rate is expected to fall below 20 percent for the first time since the end of World War II due to reductions in the number of full-time workers.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2003

Sound reasons inspire unusual strikes

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- News from France concerning the recent work stoppage by diplomats of the prestigious Quai d'Orsay is unusual, to say the least. Thousands of diplomatic officers, both in Paris and abroad, have abandoned their duties in protest of huge budgetary restrictions that have torpedoed...
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2003

Bagabandi submits war internee info

Visiting Mongolian President Natsagiin Bagabandi on Thursday handed over documents on about 110 Japanese transferred to Mongolia after being detained by the Soviet Union after World War II.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2003

Pension levels to stay above 50% of income

Cabinet ministers and ruling party executives agreed in principle Wednesday to maintain future pension levels at 50 percent or more of workers' incomes when reforming the public pension system.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2003

Survey finds firms short of manpower

Companies short of manpower in November outnumbered those with too many workers for the first time in almost six years.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2003

Mergers expected to halve number of municipalities

Mergers will bring the number of cities, towns and villages in Japan to half the current figure by March 2005, according to a Kyodo News survey made available this week.
BUSINESS
Dec 3, 2003

Coalition agrees on pension reform

The two ruling parties agreed Tuesday that the level of public pension benefits for a model household should be no less than 50 percent of its average salary before retirement, rejecting the Finance Ministry's call for drastic cuts in both benefits and premiums.
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2003

Jittery JT to launch six new products next month

Japan Tobacco Inc. said Monday it will launch six new cigarette products simultaneously early next month in a bid to sustain revenue amid a rapidly shrinking market.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2003

Tokyo holds subway bioterrorism drill

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government held a drill Monday involving about 170 people based on the assumption that the capital was under attack by terrorists unleashing the smallpox virus on the subway system.
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2003

Growing jobless ranks rain on recovery parade

Japan's jobless rate was 5.2 percent in October, edging up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2003

Are Japanese ready for bioengineered 'natto'?

A venture company in Hokkaido is challenging Japanese consumers unwilling to buy genetically modified food.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2003

Foreign workers at record 274,145

The number of foreign workers in Japan hit a record high of 274,145 as of June 1, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 29, 2003

Modern feng shui offers clarity in work, at home

Mark Ainley has the coolest Web site. Simple, clear and concise, it is designed (by Spin the Moose Media) in three sections: Clear Space (about feng shui), Clear Body Mind (a one-brain system based on the ancient belief that body and mind are connected) and Clear Spirit (the inspirational and meditative...
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2003

Life insurers surviving but see business shrink

Stable stock prices have eased concerns about potential failure at the nation's nine largest life insurance companies, but they continue to struggle against shrinking business volume, according to interim reports announced as of Thursday.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear