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Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 11, 2016

Heal thyself: U.N.'s WHO at crossroads; experts call for fresh focus, structure

When executive board members of the World Health Organization sat down for their annual meeting in Geneva in January, many powerful figures spoke forcefully of the need to reform the leading global authority on health and disease.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2001

End the neglect of mental-health care

World Health Day, April 7, 2001, focuses on an undervalued and often misunderstood aspect of our health -- our mental health. The World Health Organization and its partners in public health are taking steps to change this perception.
Japan Times
Finland report 2023
Jan 18, 2023

Nightingale Health: The preventative health company

Nightingale Health (est. 2013) is a health technology company aiming to promote preventative health with its proprietary blood analysis technology.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 7, 2023

China’s COVID surge threatens villages as Lunar New Year approaches

China is bracing for an onslaught of infections in its fragile countryside as millions of people crowd onto trains and buses to return to their rural homes for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 25, 2022

Monkeypox proves elusive foe as WHO sounds alarm on global spread

COVID-19 forced governments to revamp their pandemic response programs. Now monkeypox is putting those upgrades to the test — and they're falling short.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 27, 2022

With supply more abundant, U.S. pharmacies struggle to use up COVID pills

The rollout of the COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid has been far more complicated and less efficient than expected, leaving hundreds of thousands of courses unused.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Feb 2, 2022

What you need to know about recovering from COVID-19 at home

To lower the burden on health care systems, the rules for self-isolation are changing — here's a rundown of the latest from the health ministry.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 11, 2021

Indians still battling impacts of COVID-19 now burdened with medical debt

Even before the pandemic struck, India's out-of-pocket expenses on health care were among the highest in the world.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Jan 28, 2021

Raging virus, few shots: How Brazil missed its chance to secure COVID-19 vaccines

Persistent delays have left Brazil's 210 million residents vulnerable to one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks on the planet.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / Beyond COVID-19
Jan 7, 2021

Lessons from Rwanda’s fight against COVID-19

The country does not have an abundance of ventilators or intensive-care-unit beds, but it does have a system built on equity, trust, community participation, and patient centrism.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Dec 29, 2020

The lessons from East Asia's coronavirus successes

Japan and its neighbors have largely fared better than the West during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now have a duty to pass on their knowledge.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2020

The low-tech way that Japan managed to tackle the virus quickly

Experts contend that the existence of public health centers are one of the key reasons Japan was able to avoid an explosion in coronavirus cases.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 28, 2020

As Japan reopens, coronavirus testing slowed by red tape and staff shortages

Health ministry technocrats wanted to maintain a tight grip on information rather than cooperate with private institutions, critics say.
If you have a specific birth plan in mind, like giving birth at home, it's important to make sure the clinic you use offers that option.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 14, 2023

Giving birth in Japan? Here’s what you need to know.

Giving birth can be overwhelming — even more so if you don’t understand the local language or know the steps you need to take.
An ayurvedic doctor performs a traditional therapy at SGVP Holistic hospital in Ahmedabad, India, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 17, 2023

WHO holds first traditional medicine summit

The global health body has come under fire from online critics who accused it of providing scientific validation to pseudoscience.
In 1990, there were five times as many men who had alcohol use disorder than women — now it’s two times, according to the director of a research institute on alcoholism and alcohol abuse.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2023

Women are drinking more alcohol and it’s killing them

Analysis of data from the CDC found that alcohol-related deaths among women increased by nearly 15% per year between 2018 and 2020.
A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 20, 2023

Table for one? What depopulation in Japan means for dinner.

As Japan’s population ages and more people find themselves isolated, solving their dietary needs is shaping the way the country feeds itself.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, attends a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2024

Zuckerberg’s apology isn’t enough to stop children being harmed

META's CEO apologized to the families of children abused via social media, but real regulation is needed for such harm to be avoided in the first place.
3M’s Cottage Grove, Minnesota, factory had been churning out varieties of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances since the 1950s. Recent studies have linked widely used compounds within the chemical family to reduced immune response and cancer.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 4, 2024

How PFAS 'forever chemicals' affect human health

There is firm evidence that at least one of the more than 4,000 human-made chemicals called PFAS causes cancer.
Health ministry officials enter Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's factory in the city of Osaka on March 30.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 26, 2024

Kobayashi Pharma to cover bills of people who got ill after taking supplements

The Osaka company’s board has also set up a third-party panel to probe the company’s handling of the issue.
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.
Although Truvada has been used globally as an HIV prevention drug for years, the movement toward expanding its use as preexposure prophylaxis in Japan has been slow.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 29, 2024

Health ministry approves Truvada as HIV prevention drug

Truvada is the first drug approved in Japan for both the treatment and prevention of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
A pig bone is hung at the entrance to the Shiokawa district in the village of Tamara, Okinawa Prefecture, in August 2021.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Oct 21, 2024

Okinawan pig slaughter ritual blocked by public health authorities

The ban presents a dilemma to residents who say making changes takes away the practice's meaning.
A woman carries firewood she bought at a marketplace in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Oct. 2. Telehealth — the use of technology to provide and access health care services remotely — has been growing around the world but is relatively new in Zimbabwe.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 27, 2024

In Zimbabwe, Starlink’s fast internet gives telehealth a boost

The satellite unit of Elon Musk's SpaceX received the green light in May to operate its internet services in Zimbabwe.
More companies are offering tailored solutions for the unique health and wellness needs of men.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 21, 2025

'Mentech' starts gaining traction in Japan

Inspired by products and services catering specifically to women, mentech aims to provide tailored solutions to meet the health and wellness needs of men.
The member states of the World Health Organization reached "an agreement in principle" on Saturday on a text designed to better protect the world from future pandemics, after more than three years of discussions, the co-chair of the negotiating body said.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 13, 2025

Accord reached 'in principle' over tackling future pandemics

Delegates will meet on Tuesday to put the finishing touches to a landmark text on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
A public health nurse (right) teaches stretching techniques using an exercise ball to employees of Hattori, a machine tool and industrial equipment supplier in Aichi Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
May 7, 2025

Companies leverage healthy working strategies to attract talent

The approach prioritizes employee well-being as a core business objective.
A worker sorts plastic waste for recycling at Minato Resource Recycle Center in Tokyo in 2019. Japan has been criticized by environmental groups for its strategy on plastics, which is heavily reliant on recycling instead of reduction.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
May 25, 2025

Are microplastics hurting our fertility?

While a lot remains unknown about how microplastics affect our health, scientists in Japan and around the world broadly agree there's an urgent need to reduce plastic production.
Bangladesh hoped to celebrate progress towards eradicating tuberculosis this year. Instead, it is reeling from a $48 million snap aid cut by U.S. President Donald Trump's government, which health workers say could rapidly unravel years of hard work and cause huge numbers of preventable deaths.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 4, 2025

From Nigeria to Pakistan, TB testing 'in a coma' after U.S. aid cuts

Moves by U.S. President Donald Trump have stalled vital research in South Africa and left TB survivors lacking support in India.
According to the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity, 20% of women in their 20s in Japan are underweight, one of the highest rates among developed countries.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 10, 2025

Female Underweight/Undernutrition Syndrome to be classified disorder

According to one group, 20% of women in their 20s in Japan are underweight.

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