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Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Mar 7, 2014

Era of personal genomic medicine dawns at last

When President Bill Clinton announced in 2000 that Craig Venter and Dr. Francis Collins of the National Human Genome Research Institute had succeeded in mapping the human genome, he solemnly declared that the discovery would "revolutionize" the treatment of virtually all human diseases.
EDITORIALS
Feb 12, 2014

Prioritizing medical research

The Abe administration is seeking to establish a new system for the nation's medical research in which the government takes the lead role in pushing large-scale projects in the development of new drugs and medical technology.
EDITORIALS
Jan 22, 2014

Tobacco's red flag turns 50

It was 50 years ago that a landmark study by the U.S. Surgeon General identified the links between tobacco use, cancer and death. The number of tobacco-related illnesses and fatalities remains too high.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2014

Kadena moms demand truth

Six months ago, dangerous levels of dioxin were discovered near two U.S. Department of Defense schools on Okinawa Island — but only now are many service members based there learning the full extent of the contamination.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 18, 2014

Meditation may reduce anxiety, depression

Meditation may offer the same relief as antidepressants for people with symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to an analysis of previous findings on the practice.
EDITORIALS
Jan 14, 2014

Lessons from the Diovan scandal

Fallout from the Diovan case in Japan suggests that clinical drug studies on patients should be financed either with public research funds or through formal funding contracts between pharmaceutical companies and the research institutions involved — rather than by pharma donations.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2014

How South Korea rides out emerging-markets turmoil

With seven of every 10 high school graduates attending a university, there is a surplus of educated people in South Korea. Estimates are that 40 percent of college graduates are redundant.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 31, 2013

Failed predictions: President Romney, Pope Dolores

Humanity's faith in predictions was tested around this time a year ago when the floods, famines and other disasters predicted by the end of the ancient Maya calendar failed to materialize.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 21, 2013

A confused future for our baby boomers

No generation in the history of mankind is more reviled than that of the baby boomers, who grew up during the age of mass media. Raised on TV and glossy magazines, they connected to a world their parents knew almost nothing about, and with that experience turned from youthful explorers of expanded possibilities...
EDITORIALS
Dec 21, 2013

Students neglect physical exercise

A government survey conducted from April to July this year of more than 2 million children finds that Japanese students are doing less physical exercise than ever. The results could signal a looming health crisis.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2013

Right renews its war on democracy in Thailand

In most democracies, government spending on free health care and anti-poverty programs would be seen as part of the normal political process, but in Thailand, it is regarded by many rich opponents of the current 'Thaksin' administration as a form of bribery.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 4, 2013

Takeda breaks tradition with outsider at helm

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., the more than 230-year-old drugmaker, is starting to make a practice of breaking with tradition.
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 2013

Regulating online sales of drugs

To better protect the public health, the government should enact a law regulating the online sales of nonprescription drugs.
BUSINESS
Nov 14, 2013

Sinopharm, Mitsubishi form Chinese medical supplier

Sinopharm Group Co., China's top drug distributor, teamed with Mitsubishi Corp. to form a medical supply distributor to slash the rising cost of health care in Asia's biggest economy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2013

Opponents derail Obama’s dream of high-speed trains, and jobs

The gleaming red-and-white trains sit motionless in a cavernous warehouse in Century City, an industrial neighborhood that cranked out 100 million car and truck frames in its heyday. The seats are draped in plastic; an electronic screen on one reads, "Quiet Car. 11:10 a.m. 000 MPH."
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2013

Washington isn't working, so why not move it?

Dispersing the headquarters of Washington's bureaucratic agencies throughout America's hinterland might well reduce people's feelings of alienation and hence lead to better government.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2013

Good governance, rule of law make countries truly flourish

While there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for a country's prosperity, it is apparent that democratic principles and the rule of law are particularly effective for progress in crucial areas.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2013

Economists, stop playing in a science lab coat

Why do some economists keep insisting that economics is a science? If they would just give up on the science fixation, they might begin to appreciate the value in what they do.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2013

Lack of U.S. vision hurts TPP

If President Barack Obama is really shopping for a legacy, then he should widen his gaze and look to the global stage. There is no need to rush the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks.
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2013

U.S. government on Cruz control

To starve the feared 'Obamacare' of funding, a hard core of America's Republican right seems prepared to paralyze the U.S. government and cripple its creditworthiness.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2013

Democrats find rare unity in budget fight

Shortly before the government shut down, House Republicans crafted their final spending offer, including two health care provisions designed to scare red-state Senate Democrats facing re-election battles: one to delay the Affordable Care Act's unpopular individual mandate and another removing subsidies...
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2013

WEF ranks Japan 15th in worker development

Japan ranks 15th among 122 countries in the World Economic Forum's first Human Capital Index report on countries' abilities to develop and deploy healthy, educated and able workers, the forum said Tuesday.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 28, 2013

Aquaculture advances are leading to more eco-friendly farmed salmon

Come dinner time, wild salmon is an excellent choice. Many of the Pacific fisheries are well managed, and the fish itself is healthy and delicious. The problem is that there isn't very much of it left. Worldwide, our annual wild salmon harvest comes to about 2 billion pounds (907 million kg), which sounds...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2013

Liberating people to control their eating habits

When it comes to weight-loss programs, give people rules of thumb — not product manuals. Let them see how the media manipulates them already to consume more.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past