Tag - covid-19-in-japan

 
 

COVID 19 IN JAPAN

A decline in COVID-19-caused deaths likely helped boost the average life expectancy for Japanese men and women to rise for the first time in three years in 2023.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 26, 2024
Japan's average life expectancy rises for first time in three years
The rise in life expectancy may possibly be a reflection of a drop in fatality rates for COVID-19 patients.
The health ministry is calling for people to take infection control measures thoroughly as cases of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases are rising in Japan.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 24, 2024
Japan battling 11th COVID wave, data shows, as KP.3 variant evades immunity
New infections have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks amid the rise of the highly transmissible new coronavirus variant.
Paris is preparing to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which start on Friday. These Summer Games will likely be very different from the previous ones, held in Tokyo in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 22, 2024
In defense of Tokyo 2020, the loneliest Olympics
As Paris gets ready to host the Olympics, a reflection on the previous Games, held in Tokyo three years ago, prompts doubts about predictions of a COVID-induced disaster.
People hold umbrellas while watching baseball to deal with the heat in the city of Shizuoka on July 7.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 19, 2024
As risk of heatstroke rises in Japan, so does that of COVID-19
Patients examined for suspected heatstroke have been diagnosed with COVID-19 instead, as symptoms can be similar.
The revised action plan for Japan's response to outbreaks of new infectious diseases requires the government to take action to raise awareness about vaccinations, reflecting concerns expressed by many of those who submitted public comments over the revision.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2024
Japan adopts revised action plan for infectious diseases
The government will implement the plan flexibly while taking into consideration the impact of the measures on people's lives.
Internal affairs minister Takeaki Matsumoto bows after a bill to revise the local autonomy law was approved at a plenary meeting of the Upper House on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 19, 2024
Japan enacts bill for emergency state power over local governments
The purpose is to make sure that Japan can respond quickly to incidents not presupposed by existing laws.
Students receive school lunch at Senju Aoba Junior High School in Tokyo in June 2022.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 17, 2024
Obesity increased among children in Japan during pandemic
The study analyzed the health checkup data of about 186,000 people who graduated from junior high school between fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2022.
Kenji Iikura (right), head chef at Akasaka Tantei, and manager Hibiki Kitazawa pose with Okinawan cuisine served at the restaurant in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 17, 2024
How a Michelin-star Okinawan restaurant made a V-shaped recovery
A return to its roots — and Okinawan flavors — struck a chord with new and returning customers.
A bill to revise the local autonomy law clears the Lower House on Thursday.
JAPAN
May 30, 2024
Japan's Lower House passes bill for state power in emergencies
The revision is aimed at enabling swift responses for ensuring citizens' safety.
Shigeru Omi, then-Japan's top COVID-19 advisor, speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office in April 2022. A study published this month has shown that many experts who spoke to the media about COVID-19 in Japan were harassed by the public.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 22, 2024
Many COVID experts in Japan harassed after speaking to media, survey shows
The research conducted by a professor at Waseda University is Japan’s first comprehensive survey on threats targeting COVID-19 experts.
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.
On May 2, the streets of Arashiyama, a well-known tourist destination in Kyoto, were filled with tourists, including many from abroad, ahead of the four-day weekend.
JAPAN / Society
May 6, 2024
Excitement returns to tourist spots in Japan one year on
Medical institutions have remained on alert for a possible spread of infections, including during the Golden Week holiday period.
A woman in the Tokai region posts her meals on social media and gives advice to young people suffering from eating disorders.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 22, 2024
Woman with eating disorder looks to help young sufferers via social media
The woman is letting people know that a person’s value is not determined by their body shape.
The international departure lobby at Haneda Aiport in Tokyo on April 29, 2023, at the start of the Golden Week holidays.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2024
Golden Week travel plans near pre-pandemic levels as overseas bookings surge
This year's Golden Week marks the first since the government downgraded COVID-19’s classification to the same level as the seasonal flu.
Health minister Keizo Takemi (third from left) attends a preparatory committee meeting to discuss establishing a new expert body to prepare for future infectious disease crises, in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2024
Japan to launch new body for future pandemics next April
The body will be called the Japan Institute for Health Security.
The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2024
Tokyo clinic director fails to report ¥1 billion COVID-19 subsidy
The director received subsidies to perform PCR tests and outsourced testing services, but an audit showed she had not paid some ¥1 billion to outsourcers.
Japan welcomed 2.79 million visitors in February, a record for the month and the most for any month since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2024
Japan sees record 2.79 million visitors in February due to Lunar New Year boost
The travel industry is getting a major boost from a weak yen that has made Japan a bargain destination for foreign travelers.
An Upper House budget committee session for questions and answers on the fiscal 2024 draft budget held Wednesday
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 6, 2024
Japan's huge draft budget raises questions over fiscal accountability
The government allocates reserves and determines their use at Cabinet meetings, requiring only retroactive approval by parliament.
Health minister Keizo Takemi announces the government's decision to stop subsidizing COVID-19 medical expenses, at a news conference on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 5, 2024
Japan's government to stop subsidizing COVID-19 treatment after March
"Hospitals are making preparations to admit coronavirus patients to general wards and we think that is no problem," said health minister Keizo Takemi.
A building in Tokyo's Akihabara district raided by the Metropolitan Police Department's public security bureau in May last year
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 21, 2024
Chinese 'overseas police station' in Tokyo raided over benefit fraud
According to papers submitted to prosecutors, the raids stemmed from an alleged illegal receipt of COVID-19 subsidies.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals