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July 07, 2025
 

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DEMENTIA

Health minister Keizo Takemi fields questions from reporters in March after a Cabinet meeting to deal with health problems caused by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's beni kōji red yeast rice supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2024
Health Minister Keizo Takemi on how to improve Japan's health care system
Digitalization, hiring high-skilled foreign workers and increasing wages are among the steps that Japan could take.
In the past 11 months, health minister Keizo Takemi has been charting his own path, seeking to make Japan's health care policies more global and digitalized.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2024
Global mindset crucial for reform of Japan's health care, minister says
International strategies and domestic health care reform are inextricably linked, says health minister Keizo Takemi.
A health ministry panel has approved Eli Lilly's donanemab drug for Alzheimer's patients.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 2, 2024
Japan's health ministry set to approve second Alzheimer's drug
Donanemab, developed by U.S. pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, has been backed by a ministry panel.
A scientist looks at scans at the Memory Center at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital in Geneva on June 6, 2023.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 29, 2024
A blood test accurately diagnosed Alzheimer’s 90% of the time, study finds
A team of researchers reported that a blood test was significantly more accurate than doctors’ interpretation of cognitive tests and CT scans in signaling Alzheimer's.
The latest research indicates that heat stress is likely to worsen the condition of people with Alzheimer’s disease — which accounts for over half of all dementia cases in Japan — by making them more irritated or exacerbating their cognitive decline.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Boiling Point
Jul 29, 2024
For aging Japan, a troubling link between heat and dementia
The latest research indicates that heat can exacerbate cognitive decline and worsen dementia symptoms.
Leqembi, which was developed by U.S. multinational Biogen and Japanese-based Eisai, is the brand name of an active substance called lecanemab, which is used to treat adults with mild memory and cognitive problems resulting from the early stages of the common type of dementia.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 27, 2024
European medicines watchdog rejects Eisai's new Alzheimer's drug
The watchdog said the risks of side effects, including potential brain bleeding, outweighed the benefits.
When the effects of dementia cause Yohji (left, Tatsuya Fuji) to spiral out of control, it becomes clear to his son (Mirai Moriyama) that he has been absent from his life in more ways than one in Kei Chikaura’s “Great Absence.”
CULTURE / Film
Jul 11, 2024
‘Great Absence’: Poetic family drama follows downfall of dementia-plagued patriarch
A retired professor’s mind is slipping away from him, but there is more to unravel in Kei Chikaura’s dark family drama.
Municipalities across the country have been devising various ways to keep track of the whereabouts of individuals with dementia.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 5, 2024
Record 19,000 people with dementia reported missing in Japan in 2023
The figure is nearly twice that of a decade earlier, according to the National Police Agency.
About 1 to 1.8 out of 1,000 people in Japan are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 6, 2024
Japan researchers develop drug to visualize Parkinson’s disease in living patients
The study could help better our understanding of such neurodegenerative diseases, for which there are currently no cures.
Artificial intelligence is being utilized to detect dementia at an early stage, such as through analyzing characteristics seen in the way people with dementia walk.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 5, 2024
AI tools to detect dementia under development in Japan
The health ministry thinks that about 11.97 million people will have dementia or mild cognitive impairment in Japan in 2040.
Researchers at Tokyo's Juntendo University investigated whether an SGLT2 inhibitor, a drug that promotes sugar excretion through urine, could remove aging cells by administering it to obese mice for a week.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 31, 2024
Diabetes drug shows promise for aging-related illnesses in mice study
The Juntendo University study shows an SGLT2 inhibitor successfully eliminating senescent cells, which accumulate with age, in the mice's visceral fat.
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.
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.
While a new Alzheimer’s test offers hope for early intervention, it also raises complex ethical and practical questions about its implementation and potential impact on individuals' lives.
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2024
Do you really want to find out if you'll get Alzheimer's?
Would you want to know there’s something going wrong in your brain — even if there’s no cure?
Tests for patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. According to the Alzheimer's Association, the disease is estimated to affect more than 6 million Americans.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 24, 2024
Alzheimer's drug adoption in U.S. slowed by doctors' skepticism
There is an entrenched belief among some doctors that treating the memory-robbing disease is futile.
AI software is being used to detect cognitive decline in older Japanese drivers in order to help prevent accidents.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 22, 2023
AI startup helps insurers spot cognitive decline in elderly drivers
Once reliant on a driver's age and model of car, some insurers now rely on AI to expedite settlements and craft more precise risk assessments.
Elderly people experience taking part in esports in Ono, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Oct 16, 2023
Fukushima town turns to esports as a health tool for the elderly
Ono and Fukushima Medical University have been holding trial sessions and analyzing the effects of gaming experience on cognitive functions.
A 93-year-old at his office in Tokyo solves ancient math problems in Egyptian numbers to keep his mind sharp.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 3, 2023
Japan prepares national project to deal with dementia
About 9.53 million people, or 1 in 4 elderly people, are predicted to have dementia in 2040.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 25, 2023
As Japan OKs Alzheimer's drug, issue of side effects comes into focus
There are big challenges ahead for the use of lecanemab, particularly on how to control side effects such as brain swelling and bleeding.
Shinobu Yamanaka, a mom of three sons and director of a day care facility in Konan, Kochi Prefecture, serves up to eight "members" six days a week.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Aug 22, 2023
Kochi dementia care center aims to set new paradigm in Japan
A new generation of people with Alzheimer’s in Japan are trying to change not only dementia care but also social attitudes toward patients.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
Tokyo and Kyoto feature among top ‘noctourism’ destinations
Tokyo ranked second after New York and ahead of Dubai and Singapore in a ranking of the top global cities for nighttime tourism.
Elon Musk says he has created a new U.S. political party
Elon Musk looks on during a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on May 30.
Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning
Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

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