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Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Jul 23, 2020

Support medical institutions and staff combating COVID-19

The pandemic's financial toll on hospitals and clinics has been staggering.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jun 5, 2020

Care workers in Nagoya struggle to aid elderly in coronavirus pandemic

After clusters of COVID-19 infections were reported at care centers, the city asked some facilities to close down for two weeks.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 1, 2019

The prison inside: Japan's hikikomori lack relationships, not physical spaces

Fifty-three-year-old Kenji Yamase doesn't fit the traditional image of a hikikomori, but then perceptions of Japan's social recluses are changing.
EDITORIALS
Sep 28, 2014

Nursing care worker shortage

Japan's population is graying rapidly even as a large number of nursing care workers quit their jobs every year, leaving nursing care facilities in dire need of staffing.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2020

Japanese ICUs understaffed and overlooked as coronavirus influx looms

The health ministry estimates that Tokyo could see up to 700 patients in need of intensive care every day once the epidemic reaches its peak.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2019

For Japan's medical interpretation industry, tourism boom presents growing challenge

During one of her medical-interpreting lessons in July, teacher Yoshiko Ishizaka, 77, brought up the case of a former student who was dealing with schizophrenia.
EDITORIALS
Mar 4, 2016

Supreme Court's dementia ruling

The Supreme Court provides some peace of mind to people having to look after elderly relatives suffering from dementia.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2023

A sick America can’t compete with global powers

Poor health is not just a tragedy for individuals. It is a constraint on the U.S.’s productivity and its ability to defend itself.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / A MATTER OF HEALTH
Apr 19, 2017

Language barriers at Japanese medical institutions put foreign patients at risk: expert

Here's a little-known, unnerving truth about health care in Japan: for non-Japanese, the death rate is higher than that for Japanese.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Sep 24, 2013

'Grandma export' exposes Germany's struggle with care

Sonja Miskulin has forgotten her beloved cat, Pooki. She can't remember whether she has grandchildren and has no memory of her nine-hour journey one recent Sunday to forever leave behind her home in Germany.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2010

Medical care shoppers bet on diagnosis, benign bugs

HONG KONG — The reception area is welcoming, open and airy with tropical green trees and plants. The rooms have sofas, tables and chairs, well-chosen paintings, as well as the bed. Menus are prepared by international chefs who compete for the privilege of being chosen for a month at a time. But you...
COMMENTARY
Aug 24, 2009

Afghan health crisis defies aid efforts so far

NEW YORK — Afghanistan is going through a serious public health emergency, exacerbated by the unstable political situation in the region. Food shortages could leave 8 million Afghans — 30 percent of the population — on the brink of starvation, unless more effective aid is provided soon. Lack of...
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 5, 2020

Nearly 20% of Japan nursing care providers out of masks amid COVID-19 outbreak

Nearly 20 percent of nursing care service providers in Japan have run out of face masks, which have been in short supply in the country as the COVID-19 outbreak continues, a recent survey by a labor union has shown.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 30, 2019

Contrasting visions of Denmark's welfare state turn issue into hot election topic

The Nordic welfare model, long the envy of many across the world seeking an egalitarian utopia, is creaking.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 13, 2018

April 1 marks start of Japan's new medical fees and processes

The new medical prices are out.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 27, 2016

Nursing care workers hard to find but in demand in aging Japan

As the nation's population rapidly grays, ensuring there are enough nursing care workers to meet growing demand has become a pressing issue.
JAPAN / Society / 70 YEARS AFTER THE WAR'S END
Aug 11, 2015

Offspring have hard time relating hibakusha experience but have same health fears

Facing his fellow survivors of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Atsushi Takeshita begrudgingly announced last month that his group, comprised of about 100 hibakusha, will put an end to more than 60 years of activity because its members are getting too old.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Feb 15, 2015

LGBT students may be ready to come out, but are Japan's schools ready to accept them?

When university student Osamu Inoue, 19, came out openly in high school two years ago and admitted he was gay, he had hoped that at least his school would have adopted a more positive attitude toward sexual minorities.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2015

Facility offers rare day care for children with special needs

Finding suitable child care facilities is a daunting task for most working families in Japan, but when it comes to children with severe medical problems and disabilities, the options are virtually nil.
EDITORIALS
Jan 4, 2014

Not all kids can fete the new year

The extreme poor in Japan make up a larger percentage of the poor than in all except five other OECD nations. The children of this group do not have the basics for learning.
Reader Mail
Aug 14, 2011

Emergency care system in trouble

Regarding the July 24 Kyodo article "Hospitals turn away patients at record rate": The central and local governments need to exercise strong leadership in getting hospitals and the public to take steps to streamline Japan's emergency care system.
The latest figure is significantly less than a previous projection released in 2015 that said more than 8 million people would have dementia by 2040.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 8, 2024

Nearly 6 million elderly people in Japan will have dementia by 2040

While the figure is lower than a previous projection, the latest estimate still showed a steady growth in the number of people with dementia.
Passengers exit trains at Hamamatsucho Station in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 1, 2024

Paternity leave uptake in Japan hits record 30%

The new record represents a 13 percentage point increase from the previous year.
Over the past 10 years, the athletic performance of women in their 40s showed a decline in the total score as well as in individual categories, according to the Japan Sports Agency.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 15, 2024

40% of Japanese women in their 30s and early 40s don't exercise at all

The trend reflects the fact that women in this age group tend to be busy with child rearing or work, according to the Japan Sports Agency.
Japan faces a growing crisis of social isolation, with over 1.4 million people — many middle-aged — living reclusive lifestyles, and experts say only long-term, trust-based community support can reverse the trend.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 16, 2025

Japan needs to rethink how it helps hikikomori

While hikikomori, the Japanese term for acute social withdrawal, often brings to mind young recluses in dark bedrooms, the reality is broader.
The streets of Tokyo's Ginza district in April. The number of foreign residents in Japan hit a record high at 3.76 million as of the end of last year, comprising just over 3% of the population.
BUSINESS
Aug 14, 2025

Welcoming foreign residents benefits Japan, three quarters of economists say

Some highlighted the need to avoid conflating foreign nationals who may be in Japan temporarily with long-term foreign residents.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.