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Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 5, 2022

COVID study gives ‘powerful’ clues to pandemic’s lasting impact

The research may help form a clearer definition of the enduring symptoms estimated to afflict as many as 5 million adults in the U.S. alone.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Jul 28, 2022

Everything you need to know about BA.5, the dominant strain spreading across Japan

Amid a seventh wave of infections, daily case numbers have been reaching unprecedented highs, with the nation logging 969,000 cases over the seven-day span to Sunday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 21, 2022

Heat wave fee for Asia's gig workers does little to cool climate stress

Riders and drivers are dealing with extreme weather, as they often work long hours, waiting at street corners and outside restaurants for orders.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 1, 2022

China plans for years of 'COVID zero' strategy with tests on every corner

A network of tens of thousands of lab testing booths are being set up across the country, with the goal of having residents always just a 15 minute walk away from a swabbing point.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 23, 2022

Drugmakers propose swift pandemic response to benefit poorer countries

The global debate on a better response to disease outbreaks is in full swing as health ministers will meet in Geneva this week for the World Health Organization's assembly.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 20, 2022

Abortion pills in Japan may require a partner’s signature

Japan's anticipated approval of medical abortion pills may come with a hurdle, requiring women to get approval from their partners before doctors will give them the drugs.
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
May 20, 2022

Government clarity needed as Japan eyes border reopening for tourism

The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida seems ready to explore a more permissive policy to begin a return to normalcy and the economic rewards that come with tourism.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2022

The Indian government and its COVID-19 con

As the recent spat with the WHO over COVID-19 mortality figures suggests, clumsy attempts to influence the global narrative will only undermine India's international reputation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2022

34 volunteers chose to get COVID-19. Here’s what scientists learned.

One of the first big surprises was how short the COVID incubation period was; it took only two days before the volunteers tested positive on PCR tests and soon after that on the rapid tests.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 5, 2022

The vanishing COVID variants: Lessons from gamma, iota and mu

While understanding omicron remains a critical public health priority, there are lessons to be learned from lesser lineages of the coronavirus.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 28, 2022

Japan's mask debate grows as public urged to stay vigilant during Golden Week

Experts maintain that indoor ventilation and other basic prevention measures are still vital, as infection levels remain high in many places.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Apr 26, 2022

Olympic champion Chloe Kim to take break for mental health

The American became the youngest woman to claim an Olympic gold in snowboarding when she won the halfpipe at the 2018 Winter Games as a 17-year-old.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 24, 2022

Mystery liver disease in children spurs urgent investigation

One child has died and more than a dozen have undergone liver transplants as a result of a mysterious outbreak of severe acute hepatitis.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 17, 2022

The unseen scars of those who kill via remote control

Capt. Kevin Larson was one of the best drone pilots in the U.S. Air Force. Yet as the job weighed on him and untold others, the military failed to recognize its full impact.
Takeda Pharmaceutical is in talks to make its dengue vaccine available in India.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2024

Takeda in regulatory talks to launch dengue vaccine in India

Takeda's dengue vaccine is currently available for children and adults in countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Argentina and Brazil.
Shi Pong Hsu, 75, makes coffee in a Singapore coffee shop. The city-state's government projects that almost a quarter of its population will be 65 or over by 2030.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2024

Singapore is bracing for a super-aging society

Japan and South Korea may be the poster children for low birthrates, but Singapore is confronting its own decline. Its solution? Bonuses for nurses.
A colorized scanning electron micrograph of group A streptococcus bacteria
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 24, 2024

Tokyo issues warning as rare but deadly STSS bacterial infections rise

Concerns are growing over the spread of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS), often dubbed the “flesh-eating disease.”
Beni kо̄ji has been widely used in Japan and elsewhere as a food additive, and features prominently in Okinawan cuisine, particularly in a dish called tо̄fuyо̄.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 1, 2024

Beni kōji purveyors fear growing aversion following supplement scandal

The ingredient has long been used in Japan and elsewhere as a food additive, and features prominently in Okinawan cuisine.
The U.S. military’s Kawakami Ammunition Depot in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture. High levels of PFAS have been detected in well water around the facility.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Apr 15, 2024

U.S.-Japan pact hampers PFAS survey at U.S. facility in Hiroshima

The bilateral Status of Forces Agreement gives exclusive authority to the U.S. forces over the management of their facilities in Japan.
A staff member works at the animation studio Shake Hands in Kyoto on Jan. 24. The studio aims to provide job training and confidence to people with autism.
JAPAN / Society
May 5, 2024

Anime studio draws on talent of autistic artists

The groundbreaking initiative aims to provide job training and confidence to people with autism.
Studies have observed that patients eventually diagnosed with multiple sclerosis initially complain of common issues like anxiety, fatigue or bladder problems. Researcher may be on the road to developing a simple test that can definitively tell a patient if they have the disease.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2024

This multiple sclerosis discovery could be a breakthrough

Researchers have found evidence that neurons are being damaged years before the disease makes itself known.
Medical workers take care of a COVID-19 patient on a mechanical ventilator, in a negative pressure room in an intensive care unit at St. Marianna University School of Medicine Yokohama City Seibu Hospital in Yokohama in August 2021.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 8, 2024

Many still face COVID aftereffects a year after assessment downgrade

As there is no cure yet for long-lasting symptoms, doctors are calling on people to continue taking infection preventative measures.
The H5N1 bird flu virus, which has been found in cattle, is a pathogen that has loomed large in the minds of infectious disease experts for its potential to cause a deadly human pandemic.
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2024

The bird flu outbreak brings more questions than answers

This is a pathogen that has loomed large in the minds of infectious disease experts for its potential to cause a deadly human pandemic.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a meeting with Russia's president in Riyadh last December.
JAPAN / Politics
May 20, 2024

Saudi crown prince postpones Japan trip over king’s health

Saudi sources said Monday that members of the delegation would still travel to Japan for some talks.
The latest findings by University of Tokyo researchers raise hopes that the disease may be treated if doctors can identify people who will develop Alzheimer’s before its onset.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 23, 2024

Japanese researchers confirm blood test predicts risk of Alzheimer's

The latest study raises hopes that if doctors can identify who might be at risk of developing Alzheimer’s beforehand, it could be treated early.
A study has found that the share of people with high blood pressure increases as income decreases.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 6, 2024

Lower-income people more likely to have high blood pressure: study

The tendency seems to stem from alcohol consumption, obesity and lack of exercise.
The government is set to start discussing the idea of extending public health insurance coverage to include childbirth from fiscal 2026.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2024

Japan to discuss public insurance coverage of childbirth

The average of childbirth costs across Japan stood at some ¥482,000 in fiscal 2022.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person