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EDITORIALS
Oct 6, 2008

Japan's foreign workers

Japanese companies are not as Japanese as they once were. Japanese banks are taking over the assets of failed Wall Street investments firms, of course, but in addition to those economic assets, Japanese companies have been obtaining another asset — foreign workers. Statistics released two months ago...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2008

After the Dear Leader has passed

SEOUL — Korea is a unique country. The Cold War ended when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and is now remembered only as history to most people around the world. The Korean Peninsula, however, remains divided along ideological lines, and the two Koreas coexist as living remnants of the Cold War....
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2008

Kowa, Teva to form generic drug venture

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the world's biggest maker of generic drugs, and Kowa Co. have agreed to form a joint venture to gain a share of the growing market for cheaper medicines in Japan.
EDITORIALS
Sep 2, 2008

Higher medical student quotas

With the shortage of doctors and other medical professionals acutely felt nationwide, especially in rural regions, a panel at the health ministry has proposed greatly increasing the national quota for medical school students.
Reader Mail
Aug 3, 2008

Pets demonstrate sanctity of life

In Japan, around 400,000 dogs and cats are killed at public health centers every year. Most are taken there by their owners for "unavoidable reasons," as the owners put it. What that means is that the owners are going on a trip and won't be home to care for the pet, or they're just tired of taking care...
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2008

Major asbestos suit kicks off in Tokyo

What is believed to be the biggest asbestos-related litigation in Japan opened Wednesday at the Tokyo District Court with construction workers and relatives of deceased workers taking the stand to describe years of health problems that could have been prevented.
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2008

Goodwill to liquidate temp agency

Goodwill Group said Wednesday it will close its scandal-tainted temp staff unit Goodwill Inc. by the end of July because the health ministry is preparing to revoke its business license.
EDITORIALS
Jun 25, 2008

More doctors needed

A private advisory body for health minister Yoichi Masuzoe has urged the government to increase its quota for medical students. The recommendation comes amid reports that pregnant women, children and rural residents are having difficulties getting medical treatment. The government should implement this...
EDITORIALS
Jun 12, 2008

Nationwide skepticism

The outcome of Sunday's Okinawa prefectural assembly election dealt another blow to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's ruling bloc, following its April defeat in a Lower House by-election in Yamaguchi Prefecture's No. 2 constituency.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 1, 2008

Generic drugs? Brand-name drugs? Any old drugs will do

On April 1, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare notified local governments that from now on welfare recipients entitled to free medical care must only use generic pharmaceuticals rather than more expensive brand-name drugs. Almost immediately the plan was attacked in the media, which implied that...
Japan Times
JAPAN / TICAD IV
May 29, 2008

Kenyan, Brit win first Noguchi Africa Prize

YOKOHAMA — A Kenyan woman and a British man on Wednesday were handed the inaugural Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize from the government for their achievements in medical research and health services.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
May 14, 2008

Chubby checker: the machine that measures your fat

Assessing the battle: Is the humble bathroom scale destined, like the manual typewriter, for the halls of obsolescence? Amid the fret over metabolic syndrome and other health issues, just measuring your weight, even down to the gram, doesn't get the job done anymore.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Apr 29, 2008

By-election loss adds to Fukuda's troubles

The Liberal Democratic Party's defeat in the Lower House by-election in the Yamaguchi No. 2 district on Sunday is yet another blow to the already reeling Cabinet of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Apr 16, 2008

You'll never have to miss a shot or a show

Mini movie maker: Panasonic knows the virtue of small cameras. Its latest contribution to the cause is the SDR-S7, a digital camcorder that fits in your palm and weighs a mere 160 grams, including the rechargeable battery. About the same height and width as a small can of coffee, the SDR-S7 includes...
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2008

Hospital doctors feeling the strain

Whenever Naoshi Tamura is on a night shift at Ota Hospital in Tokyo, the surgeon works 36 consecutive hours with little sleep, seeing patients during the daytime and treating those transported to the emergency room at night.

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