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EDITORIALS
Sep 21, 2008

New, centenarian society

This year's Respect for the Aged Day, last Monday, found a lot more aged to respect than ever before. According to Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry statistics, over 36,000 people in Japan are now over 100 years old. Many others are close behind. Over 28 million people were aged 65 and over, one-quarter...
COMMENTARY
Jul 13, 2008

Cigarettes, lies and impressionable film fans

MADRAS, India — Humphrey Bogart used to seduce women through his smoke rings. In a movie like "Casablanca," much of this Hollywood star's playboy persona came from the cigarette he held between his fingers. That the tobacco stick finally finished him is something that all his fans, especially female,...
JAPAN / G8 SUMMIT 2008
Jul 9, 2008

G8 nations reaffirm Africa aid pledges

TOYAKO, Hokkaido — Faced with criticism for long delays in delivering promised aid to Africa, member nations of the Group of Eight pledged Tuesday to follow through on commitments made at the 2005 Gleneagles, Scotland, summit.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 COUNTDOWN
Jul 4, 2008

NGOs worried Africa will get short shrift

When the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama drew to a close May 30, Sayaka Funada-Classen, leader of a Tokyo-based nongovernmental organization, felt the years of engagement with the government had partly paid off.
COMMENTARY
May 26, 2008

Second wind for cigarette sales

At the initiative of the Finance Ministry, the government has introduced a system to verify the age of anyone using a cigarette vending machine. But the system reportedly is not widely used.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 2, 2008

'Forest therapy' taking root

For stressed-out workers, this may someday be a doctor's prescription: Walk around in the woods.
EDITORIALS
Apr 30, 2008

DPJ victory in Yamaguchi

The victory of a candidate of the Democratic Party of Japan over a candidate of the Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday's Lower House by-election in the Yamaguchi No. 2 constituency has raised a question mark over Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's political leadership. The DPJ candidate trounced the LDP candidate...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2007

Hepatitis disaster another warning ignored

Ikuko Kuno gave birth to her first son at a maternity hospital in Ise, Mie Prefecture, in May 1988. The only thing different from when she gave birth to her daughter in 1986 was that the obstetrician gave her a blood-clotting agent to stop her hemorrhaging.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 6, 2007

Don't play politics with lifesaving DDT

NEW DELHI — The specter of malaria, dengue fever and many other mosquito-borne diseases stalk the world. Despite its deserved reputation as being one of cleanest, pest-free countries in Asia, even Singapore is battling to cope with a rash of dengue cases.
COMMENTARY
Jul 31, 2007

'Sugar daddy' relationships and HIV

NEW YORK — Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the world's leading AIDS scientists, warned at an international conference on AIDS in Sydney, Australia, that the world is losing the battle against the virus. He indicated that increased emphasis should be placed on prevention efforts, particularly with regard...
JAPAN / INNOCENT VICTIMS
Mar 19, 2007

Rising child-abuse deaths draw national scrutiny

It is a routine feature on television news: Another child has been strangled, starved, beaten or otherwise fatally abused-- at the hands of the parents.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 5, 2006

There's no need to grit your teeth

It has all the elements of a nightmare. A masked person stands over you wielding a small mirror in one gloved hand and a needle-sharp probe in the other. A drill powerful enough to cut through bone in seconds sits idle on a table beside other implements of torture. You cannot see the masked face clearly...
COMMENTARY
Nov 20, 2006

Time for U.S. to change course on Cuba

NEW YORK -- The changed political landscape in Washington offers a unique opportunity to right a wrong foreign policy decision that has been maintained for almost half a century, the embargo against Cuba.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Nov 19, 2006

Scourge of skinnies stands firm on fleshiness

A third of the models who appeared in Madrid's civic-sponsored Cibeles collections last year were banned from the same fashion event this September. The move -- which triggered debate in and beyond fashion circles around the world -- came after city officials declared that the women's extremely underweight...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2006

Donor pledges to Gaza not good enough

NEW YORK -- Although several governments have recently pledged $500 million to help the Palestinian people, the response is late, incomplete and likely to be ineffective unless the aid is accompanied by political measures to alleviate a situation in which Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, have become...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2006

Collective punishment is hardly a policy

NEW YORK -- Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip and of Lebanon's southern border is exacting a heavy price on the civilian population in those regions. Isra- el's actions are worsening a humanitarian situation that was already critical, particularly as far as children's health and the quality of their...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2006

Women in China falling victim to gender violence

NEW YORK -- Although it is under-recognized and underreported, it is one of the most significant epidemics in China today. It is gender violence, manifested essentially as violence against women. This kind of violence occurs in all regions in China. It affects families of all ethnic backgrounds and social...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 11, 2006

Stick-thin, gay, or preferably both -- a television career awaits

Truth in advertising has never been strictly enforced in Japan, especially with regard to health-related claims. Breweries can get away with promoting "low-calorie" beers as weight-loss aids, while pharmaceutical makers sell vitamin supplements that claim to do everything from clear up your skin to help...
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2006

While Hamas is snubbed, kids starve

NEW YORK -- The decision by the United States, the European Union and Canada to cut financial assistance to Hamas, the winner of the recent Palestinian elections, not only disrespects the results of a clean and democratic electoral process; more ominously, it will further harm Palestinian children, already...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 9, 2006

Universal access -- if you speak Japanese

Despite 2 million foreign residents and calls for internationalization from within, Japan has a long way to go before becoming a multilingual society. The current state of health care is no exception. Be it university hospitals with cutting-edge research facilities or your neighborhood dental clinic,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Apr 11, 2006

Massage has its good and bad points

In today's deadline-driven, high-stress society, it's no longer uncommon to experiences headaches, stiff shoulders and carpal-tunnel pain every now and then. While many people turn to painkillers for relief from minor complaints, which in some cases can snowball into a chronic condition, massage treatments...
EDITORIALS
Mar 7, 2006

A battle that has barely begun

One year since the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control went into effect, Japan's smoking rate still remains high compared with other developed nations. The government needs to create a strong momentum toward lowering the rate.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2006

Metro interpreters join fight against TB

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has recently begun offering interpreters for Chinese, Korean, Filipino and Thai residents who have come down with tuberculosis.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 20, 2005

Names, cards and insurance

Naming a child I have heard that Japan does not allow middle names, even for children with foreign parents. Why not? Is there a way I can "sneak in" a middle name? Can I use a hyphen? I really want my children to have middle names.

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