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COMMENTARY
Aug 18, 2010

Sometimes TV dramas can be good for you

TIRANA, Albania — A friend of mine, a prestigious physician who works the longest hours of anybody I know, makes only one exception from her demanding schedule in New York. Once a week, she returns home early to watch a new episode of her favorite television drama. I cannot think of a more unlikely...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2010

Living life by the numbers

NEW YORK — Recently I learned that I don't have cancer. My doctor called and said, "I have some good news!" Fortunately, we were in the middle of a fire drill in my office at the time, so no one noticed as I blinked back tears of relief.
COMMENTARY
Jul 17, 2010

Breaking the oppression of Indian Dalits

One can fight oppression with violence, or one can fight it with education. Hema Konsotia, a 32-year-old Indian woman, has chosen the latter.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 17, 2010

Don't be afraid to ask questions about giving birth in Japan

With women in Japan making inroads into various career fields and having more options to choose from, it's only natural that more of them are starting families in their late 30s or even in their 40s.
EDITORIALS
Jan 14, 2010

Supporting medical services

The Hatoyama administration has decided to raise remuneration to medical institutions for fiscal 2010 and 2011. Although the raise amounts to only 0.19 percent on average, significantly it is the first raise in 10 years. The decision came against the Finance Ministry's demand that payments be lowered...
Reader Mail
Oct 15, 2009

Why the penalty for latecomers?

Why the penalty for latecomers?
EDITORIALS
Oct 8, 2009

Mixed-treatment conundrum

The government in principle bans combining medical treatments that are covered by public health insurance with treatments that are not. Patients usually pay 30 percent of medical fees for treatments covered by public insurance. But if they receive different treatments concurrently, they must pay the...
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2009

Mexico flights to Narita face flu scrutiny

The government issued orders Monday for doctors and nurses to board aircraft from Mexico at Narita airport starting Wednesday to check passengers and crew for infection of a deadly new virus that combines swine, avian and human influenza.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 24, 2009

Smokes here cheap, in state's interest

The World Health Organization calls smoking "one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced."
EDITORIALS
Nov 27, 2008

Odd motive for stabbings

A man turned himself in to the Metropolitan Police Department Saturday evening, claiming that he had killed a former health and welfare vice minister. Ten knives were found in a rented minivan he drove to the MPD; two were bloodstained. Police initially arrested the 46-year-old for illegal possession...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 9, 2008

Waistline scrutiny a midlife bugbear

The term metabolic syndrome has become a hot topic with middle-aged workers now that the government has made it mandatory for companies and local governments to check for it during annual employee health examinations.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 16, 2008

Yoga helps bring balanced stance

Every morning, Linda Gould opens the doors and windows of Riverside Yoga studio in Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture, and feels her body relax, spirit quicken and mind lighten.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2008

Pfizer diverting drug development away from Japan

Pfizer Inc., the world's biggest drugmaker, is diverting drug studies and tests from Japan as part of an industry push to avoid this nation's regulatory delays and higher costs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2008

Treating clinical depression a tall order

Depression is no stranger to Japanese society, but only within the last decade has its "clinical" component gained currency along with the realization that the malady can affect almost anyone.
COMMENTARY
Feb 4, 2008

'Plumpynut' features in malnutrition fight

NEW YORK — The World Health Organization estimates that 20 million children worldwide suffer from severe acute malnutrition right now. This untenable condition leads to a child dying every five seconds in regions such as the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and South Asia, known as the world's "malnutrition...
COMMENTARY
Jan 9, 2008

Preventing teenage pregnancy in China

NEW YORK — Parallel to its economic revolution, China is now undergoing a sexual revolution, particularly among youth, that is having far-reaching consequences on their health and quality of life. The response to this challenge will determine how, or whether, young people can overcome serious problems....
Japan Times
JAPAN / THIS FOREIGN LAND
Jan 4, 2008

The doctor will see the moneyed and insured, but less fortunate also ail

Third in a series
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2007

Abe announces he will resign

After less than a year in power, embattled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday he intended to step down to clear the political gridlock created by the ruling coalition's defeat in the House of Councilors in July and to expedite the extension of the controversial antiterrorism law.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 3, 2007

Ex-pat on a mission of life-saving dimensions

In 1982, I was successfully treated for cervical cancer. At that time I had little idea that my tumor was linked to sexually transmitted disease. Thanks to American Carol Baird -- who says that as a survivor I am one of the lucky ones -- I now know better.
EDITORIALS
Feb 27, 2007

Indonesia decides to share

The fight against infectious diseases can be won only if all countries participate, sharing research and results. That's why Indonesia's recent decision to stop sharing samples of the H5N1 bird flu virus so alarmed public-health officials: It could have prevented researchers from working on one of the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2006

Dolphin kill dogged by mercury, activists

Nearly every day since the first week in September, fishermen have been driving pods of dolphins into quiet coves near the village of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, to kill them for their meat, whatever the mercury content, or sell them to marine parks.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 29, 2006

Tofu, magic for both body and taste buds

When the summer heat sets in, my Japanese mother religiously serves hiyayakko (chilled tofu) sprinkled with katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and soy sauce. Just looking at this simple dish, I feel myself starting to cool down, knowing that tofu actually helps lower your body temperature.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2006

Database of 2,000 clinics that help smokers quit goes online

An online database of about 2,000 medical institutions that accept health insurance for a course of nonsmoking treatment has been made available by the Japanese Society for Tobacco Control, the group's officials said Thursday.
LIFE
Jul 30, 2006

What's Japan's secret of 'many happy returns'?

Japan may never have become the world's No. 1 economy, and, faced with other rising Asian powers, it probably never will be. Nonetheless, there is one thing at which Japan proudly excels above all nations: its people's longevity.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2006

Africa's clock ticking on bird flu virus

NEW YORK -- The spread of avian flu to Africa and Europe, although expected, is unwelcome news. In the last few weeks the disease has reached several states in northern Nigeria and Niger. Together with other countries in West Africa, they are on the bird migratory route from Central Asia and the Middle...
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2006

EU favors more labs over stockpiles of flu drugs

International donors at a two-day rapid response conference in Tokyo said Friday they are ready to help poor Asian countries prepare for a potential flu pandemic, but a delegate from the European Union said it will not fund the stockpiling of drugs and instead focus on improving animal health measures....

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers