NEWSWORTHY
U.K.'s Prince Philip, 97, back to driving but without seatbelt
Britain's Prince Philip has been spoken to by the police for driving without a seatbelt — just two days after the 97-year-old survived a car crash. Images published in newspapers on Sunday appeared to show Queen Elizabeth II's husband behind the wheel of his replacement ...
First nursing care trainees from Myanmar arrive to begin work in Hokkaido
The three workers, all women in their 20s, will spend three years gaining experience at Sapporo-based Sakura Community Service Co.
Traffic safety-conscious group of bald men in Mie Prefecture breaks up due to aging
In 1985, about 30 bald men in their 30s who were running businesses in Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture, created a group called Hagetemo Katsura wo Kaburan Kai, which roughly translates to a group of men who won't wear wigs even if they go bald. The men, ...
China's population is set to reach a peak of 1.44 billion in 2029 and start a long period of "unstoppable" decline in 2030, government scholars said in a research report published Friday. The world's most populous country must now draw up policies to try to ...
Government plan for poor and elderly to use vacant homes falls short of target
Only about 7,000 vacant homes and rooms had been registered as of Thursday of an anticipated 50,000 annually under a government plan to help provide subsidized housing to single seniors and people on low incomes. The underwhelming result may force the government to review the ...
Number of maternity hospitals in Japan at lowest level in over four decades, health ministry says
The number of maternity hospitals in Japan has fallen to 1,313, its lowest since 1972 when comparable data became available, as the country's population rapidly greys and maintains a low birthrate, a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry survey showed Thursday. As of October last year, ...
Japan may be in hot pursuit of robotics, but on the farm it's still all about human hands
The country that brought robots to car factories looks set to stay resolutely old-school in agriculture as it seeks to attract more foreign workers to replenish an aging workforce. This month's vote by the Diet to open the door more widely to overseas laborers confirms ...
Japan's 5 million dementia patients hold ¥143 trillion — and both numbers are on the rise
Yumiko Okubo, 71, had forgotten how to heat up food. "What's a microwave?" she asked her husband, Eiichi. She was in the early stages of dementia, struggling with vocabulary and unable to teach the kimono-dressing classes she had run for 25 years. The difficulty with everyday tasks ...
Aging Japan: Neighboring suburbs face divergent futures as one grays, another grows
Katsuya Kodama's wife died two years ago, and the 77-year-old keeps her ashes on a Buddhist altar in their suburban home outside Tokyo. "I talk to her morning and night, tell her everything," he said. "I sit on the chair she used in the bath ...
Japan's police cells evolving to meet changing demographics
Police holding cells, where those who have been arrested spend time until they are formally charged with a crime, are beginning to evolve as awareness grows across the criminal justice system about human rights and the country's increasingly diverse populace. As demographic changes lead police ...
Government panel paves way for Japan's working age limit to be raised to 70
In the course of preparing to bills on the age limit, the government will also consider promoting different working styles such as working shorter hours.
Restraints used on nearly half of dementia patients in regular hospitals in Japan
Nearly half of those with dementia who have been hospitalized in Japan were physically restrained at some point to prevent them from harming themselves. A nationwide survey carried out early last year at 3,446 hospitals and receiving valid responses from 937 found that among 23,539 ...
