Search - health

 
 
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2003

Tokyo tops table for risk to health from air pollution

Polluted air in the Tokyo metropolitan area poses the most danger to human health, followed by Osaka and Kanagawa, according to a newly compiled environmental health-risk study.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 22, 2003

Japan juggles issue of health vs. economy

The health ministry just never gets a break. As the guardian of the nation's physical well-being it is expected to warn the populace about practices and products that may pose a danger to health, but whenever it gets up the wherewithal to actually give advice people cry foul.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2003

Weather-tied health tips advise high-tech crowd

Every morning, Akio Tanaka wakes up and reaches for his mobile phone to check on his health.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2001

Poor economy taking toll on health care

The number of people losing their national health insurance certificate because they failed to pay premiums due to salary reductions and other hardships is on the rise.
JAPAN
May 7, 2023

Japan steps into post-pandemic phase with scrapping of COVID measures

The move will have a far-reaching impact on the nation’s health care system and beyond, affecting everything from the cost of treatment to the reporting of COVID cases.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 2, 2023

Asia is loosening rules on masks. Here’s why people still wear them.

Many other countries dropped pandemic mask requirements months ago. But in places like South Korea, which got rid of its rule this week, masks remain common.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2023

Japan aims to fix medical fee errors linked to My Number by August

System errors over the use of My Number cards as health insurance certificates have caused many patients to have to pay the full amount of medical costs out of their own pocket.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2022

Japan panel seeks clarification of primary care system after COVID issues

A health ministry panel has proposed clarifying the function of such physicians in law, after the pandemic highlighted ambiguities in the role they play in the community.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 15, 2022

Why China won’t end its 'COVID zero' policy

Chinese President Xi Jinping early on took ownership of the battle against the coronavirus — now his political legitimacy rests on the outcome.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 11, 2022

Long COVID disables millions worldwide even as rates ease, study shows

Although the probability of having long COVID-19 is relatively low, the vast number of cases — at least 670 million worldwide — leaves a substantial burden of disability.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 20, 2022

Biden says the pandemic is over, but at least 400 people are dying daily

Some patients said the president was being insensitive at best, and some public health experts said his words were at odds with the science.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 15, 2022

End of COVID-19 pandemic is 'in sight,' WHO chief says

It is the most upbeat assessment from the U.N. agency since it declared an international emergency in January 2020 and started describing COVID-19 as a pandemic three months later.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2022

To fight monkeypox and other viruses, look harder in the sewers

Health authorities rely on a patchwork system for testing wastewater, often missing important information about virus outbreaks such as monkeypox.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 22, 2022

With COVID-19 cases still high, Japan debates how best to monitor them

The present system is being reviewed by health authorities, as it places an enormous administrative burden on medical institutions.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2022

Japan confirms first monkeypox case as it steps up preparation for outbreak

The patient, a Tokyo resident in his 30s, had traveled to Europe in mid-June and had contact with someone who was later diagnosed with the disease.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Jun 18, 2022

How Japan achieved one of the world’s lowest COVID-19 death rates

Health experts point to continued mask wearing, extensive vaccination and an already healthy population as the core factors behind its success.
Prachi Gupta (left) after the birth of her first child in 2018
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 14, 2023

For foreign expecting mothers in Japan, a struggle over maternity norms

Different expectations over things like natural births and weight gain can cause anxieties for non-Japanese.
Novo Nordisk' anti-obesity drug Wegovy
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2023

Insurers can’t avoid covering weight-loss drugs forever

Evidence is mounting that drugs like Wegovy not only help patients lose weight but also help prevent heart attacks and strokes.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 21, 2023

My Number and beyond: What's holding back Japan’s digitalization?

The transition from analog to digital in the public sector has been a long-standing challenge for the country, spanning at least the past two decades.
Jesus Picasso, a builder originally from Mexico, takes a water break during hot weather in Manvel, Texas, on July 13.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 7, 2023

Climate change already adding to workplace costs and hazards

Workers are among the most exposed to serious health risks, while employers must grapple with impaired productivity
Leaves of marijuana plants from which hemp fibers are extracted at Japan's largest legal marijuana farm in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, on July 5, 2016
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 21, 2023

Does a university cannabis scandal point to a larger trend?

A drugs scandal at Japan’s biggest university draws attention to a troubling statistic: Cannabis use among young people is on the rise.
Amgen's office in South San Francisco, California
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 25, 2023

Big Pharma bets on AI to speed up clinical trials

AI is playing a sizeable and growing role in human drug trials.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 25, 2023

As Japan OKs Alzheimer's drug, issue of side effects comes into focus

There are big challenges ahead for the use of lecanemab, particularly on how to control side effects such as brain swelling and bleeding.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 29, 2023

As drug use rises in Japan, government eyes prevention plans

The ministry reported that by the end of August, around 300 stores in the country were found to be selling quasi-legal products known as “kiken drugs.”
A selection of injector pens for the Wegovy weight loss drug.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 21, 2023

New treatment for obesity to be covered by Japan's public insurance

The expansion of health care options comes amid concerns about the potential misuse of such drugs by healthy individuals for weight loss.
Children and their parents wait at a hospital in Beijing on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Nov 23, 2023

WHO asks China for more data on respiratory illness outbreak

Northern China has reported an increase in "influenza-like illness" since mid-October when compared to the same period in the previous three years.
The Central Social Insurance Medical Council has adopted a proposal to increase outpatient fees in order to boost the salaries of health care workers.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024

Japan to raise outpatient visit fees to increase workers' pay

In order to increase pay for young doctors, nursing staff and pharmacists, basic hospitalization fees and outpatient fees will be raised.
Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (STSS) is caused by bacteria called group A streptococcus, the same type that causes a strep throat infection, which affects mostly children. A strep A throat infection is not the same as STSS, however.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Apr 5, 2024

Japan's tissue-damaging bacterial disease: What you need to know

Misconceptions are fueling jitters at home and abroad, with travelers considering putting off their plans to visit the country.
A chicken in its coop on Fogline Farm in Pescadero, California, on March 1. Unlike the coronavirus, the H5N1 virus has been studied for years. Vaccines and treatments are available should they ever become necessary.
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 6, 2024

Is bird flu coming to people next? Are we ready?

Outbreaks have been found among dairy cows in multiple states, as well as at least one infection in a farmworker in Texas.
Cracked and dry earth in the wide riverbed of the Loire River near the Anjou-Bretagne bridge, amid a heat wave in Ancenis-Saint-Gereon, France, in 2022
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 22, 2024

Europe's record 'extreme heat stress' days in 2023 put lives at risk: report

Prolonged exposure to heat stress is particularly dangerous for vulnerable people such as the elderly or those with preexisting health conditions.

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