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JAPAN
Jun 16, 1999

Health Ministry gives the pill official OK

The Health and Welfare Ministry officially approved the low-dosage oral contraceptive pill Wednesday, nine years after receiving the first applications.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 1998

Ex-health vice minister sentenced to two years for bribery

A former top bureaucrat at the Health and Welfare Ministry was sentenced to two years in prison Wednesday and fined 63.69 million yen for bribery in connection with the construction of special subsidized nursing homes.
JAPAN
May 8, 1998

Health lawyer urges rights clause for infection legislation

A leading expert on international health law told lawmakers Friday in Tokyo that provisions for preserving human rights should be laid down in new legislation being proposed for infection control.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 1997

Health ministry to research dangers of dioxin

The Health and Welfare Ministry has decided to research the effects on humans of dioxin and other toxic chemicals ingested over long periods from air and food, sources close to the ministry said June 4.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 1997

Birch sap sourced for touted health tonic

NAGANO -- A business entity jointly set up by agricultural cooperatives of Nagano Prefecture has recently developed a drink that will satisfy even the most health-conscious people -- 100 percent natural white birch sap juice.
JAPAN
May 8, 1997

Health insurance reform passed by Lower House

A bill that would more than double medical costs for the public starting Sept. 1 cleared the Lower House on May 8 with the support of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its two non-Cabinet allies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 19, 2023

Japan to roll out COVID-19 booster targeting XBB subvariant in the fall

A vaccine subcommittee under the health ministry is aiming to prepare for another spike in infections possibly arriving in the winter.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2023

COVID wave looms in Japan after case numbers nearly double in a month

The average number of patients at each reporting facility was 5.11, up from 4.55 in the previous week and from 2.63 between May 8 and May 14.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2023

Remote work revolution becomes tug-of-war between bosses and fed-up staff

While workers don’t want to give up flexibility, leaders want teams back to boost collaboration and avoid a productivity slump.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Jun 5, 2023

Bridge marks 35 years connecting island isolated under past leprosy policy

The Oku-Nagashima Bridge in Okayama Prefecture has become a symbol of acknowledgement that the segregation policy, under which patients suffered for decades from discrimination, was wrong.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 3, 2023

Experts warn bird flu virus changing rapidly in largest ever outbreak

While emphasizing that the risk to humans remains low, experts said that the surging number of bird flu cases in mammals was a cause for concern.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 25, 2023

Small measles outbreak in Japan raises alarm

The most recent infections appear to have happened to strangers riding the same shinkansen for less than three hours.
JAPAN
May 19, 2023

Japan's new COVID cases see small rise in first count since downgrade

By prefecture, Okinawa saw the highest average of 6.07 new patients per clinic in the week through Sunday, followed by 4.9 in Ishikawa, 4.36 in Hokkaido and 4.3 in Niigata.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 12, 2023

Families of those lost to COVID wrestle with mixed emotions as emergency ends

More than 1.1 million Americans have died of COVID-19. The official end to the health emergency is being felt in complicated ways for those affected most acutely.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 11, 2023

Human pangenome ushers in 'new age of genetic diagnosis'

Scientists hope that the more diverse and accurate DNA blueprint for our species will help shed light on a range of diseases.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 2, 2023

Clouds carry drug-resistant bacteria across distances, study says

Samples were taken from an atmospheric research station perched atop the Puy de Dome summit, a dormant volcano in central France.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 1, 2023

Ruth McCreery: 'In tough situations, be patient with yourself'

When mental health support network TELL celebrated 50 years earlier this month, it named Ruth McCreery a bona fide “legend” of its Lifeline.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 24, 2023

Air pollution kills 1,200 children a year, EU agency says

Despite recent improvements, the level of air pollutants in European countries still remain above World Health Organization guidelines.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2023

To all those lab meat skeptics: Please, just stay out of the way

Europe is doing it again — stigmatizing scientific innovations, such as with lab-grown meat, that will be crucial to our future food supply.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 20, 2023

Japan health insurance societies to log record loss in fiscal 2023

The National Federation of Health Insurance Societies, or Kenporen, said that its member societies are expected to log a record loss in fiscal 2023.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 6, 2023

Excess deaths doubled in Japan in 2022 — COVID-19 may be to blame

Despite being less pathogenic than previous coronavirus variants, omicron hit Japan's elderly population particularly hard last year.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2023

Just how dangerous are India’s generic drugs? Very.

The red flags for Indian drugs have been there for years. The world deserves much better than contaminated medicine and children poisoned by cough syrup.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Mar 20, 2023

Vaccine-makers prep bird flu shot for humans 'just in case'

One current outbreak of avian flu has killed a record number of birds and infected mammals, but human cases remain rare.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 20, 2023

Gray area: The chilling past of the world's biggest brain collection

There are 9,479 of the organs, all removed from the corpses of mental health patients over the course of four decades until the 1980s.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2023

Government to scale back COVID support with disease downgrade on May 8

The move means much of the state subsidies for screening and treatments will be scaled back and free COVID testing and outpatient care will end.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 2, 2023

Viruses hiding out in patients hold long COVID answers

Scientists are exploring the possibility that some of the most infectious versions of the virus came from chronically infected individuals with weakened immune systems.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 28, 2023

Japan health ministry panel endorses nasal flu vaccine for children

Based on the results of a clinical trial involving children in Japan, the panel agreed that FluMist Quadrivalent is safe and effective in preventing the flu.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 21, 2023

Retirees take to the streets in China to protest health insurance cuts

Recent cuts in health insurance have angered older residents in Wuhan and Dalian, sparking large demonstrations.

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