Tag - depression

 
 

DEPRESSION

A recent study on the eating habits of Japanese workers has found that those who ate the most washoku were 17% to 20% less likely to show symptoms of depression compared to those who ate it the least.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 25, 2025
Washoku may prevent depression, Japan study says
Participants who ate the most washoku were 17% to 20% less likely to show symptoms of depression compared to those who ate it the least.
Japan faces a growing crisis of social isolation, with over 1.4 million people — many middle-aged — living reclusive lifestyles, and experts say only long-term, trust-based community support can reverse the trend.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 16, 2025
Japan needs to rethink how it helps hikikomori
While hikikomori, the Japanese term for acute social withdrawal, often brings to mind young recluses in dark bedrooms, the reality is broader.
Research showed that amounts of tau protein accumulation, a factor leading to dementia, were larger among people diagnosed at age 40 or more with mood disorders compared with healthy individuals of the same age group.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 13, 2025
Middle- to old-age depression may be tied to dementia
A study has found that abnormal tau protein causing dementia accumulates in the brains of middle- to old-age patients with mood disorders, such as depression, at a higher rate.
Feelings of lethargy and anxiety can sometimes hit after the Golden Week holiday period has concluded. The Japanese call this the “May blues.”
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 1, 2025
Why the month of May feels tough and how language can help
The phenomenon known as the "May blues" can have serious ramifications if you don't deal with it.
The health ministry’s report shows that the number of elementary, junior high and high school students who took their own lives in 2023 stood at 513, one fewer than last year's record of 514.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 29, 2024
Japan’s struggle with youth suicide sparks government initiatives
The health ministry’s report shows that the number of elementary, junior high and high school students who took their own lives remained alarmingly high.
A study found that long-term caregivers who were age 16 were 2.51 times likelier to engage in self-harm compared with noncaregivers.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 11, 2024
Young long-term caregivers likelier to have mental health issues
A joint study by the University of Tokyo and the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science found that the risk is particularly high for those between 14 and 16.
An employee at Otsuka Foods has filed a damages suit against the company with the Otsu District Court in Shiga Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 14, 2024
Otsuka Foods whistleblower sues company for work-related depression
The man has claimed he suffered from depression after being reassigned and given little work following a report over the company's alleged wrongdoing.
A member of staff at Momuri responds to a request for assistance in submitting a resignation in Tokyo on April 18.
JAPAN / Society
May 8, 2024
Japan's workers turning to agencies that help them quit jobs
One firm that provides such a service saw the highest-ever number of requests following the long Golden Week holiday.
The hippocampus is a part of the brain that controls memory, learning and emotions. Stressful life events such as disasters and terrorist attacks are known to lead to post-traumatic stress disorder and result in its shrinkage.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 9, 2024
Tokyo teens were less stressed during first COVID emergency: study
Increases in the volume of the hippocampus in their brains suggest reduced stress, according to research conducted by the University of Tokyo.
The health ministry found that, following the reported death of a TV personality in May 2022, the number of excess suicides in Japan spiked for two or three weeks.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 20, 2023
Copycat suicides spiked in Japan after celebrity's 2022 death
A government report is calling for the media to ensure that coverage is in line with the World Health Organization’s suicide reporting guidelines.
As many as half of women with postpartum depression go undiagnosed.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 9, 2023
New postpartum depression pill is a vital breakthrough
Pharma companies seem to be finally listening to the female half of the population.
JAPAN
May 1, 2023
Depressive tendencies among children grew during pandemic in Japan
By contrast, an improvement in depressive conditions was observed among the parents of the children.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 1, 2023
Early detection of postpartum depression? Japanese researchers may have found a way.
Currently, there are no available tests that aid with the prediction of postpartum depression.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 11, 2023
Long-term air pollution exposure raises depression risk, studies find
Air pollution has long been linked to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The new studies add to a growing body of evidence that air pollution also affects mental health.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Dec 21, 2021
As climate anxiety rises, chat groups tackle isolation and taboos
A growing network of discussion groups offer spaces for people to open up about their feelings on the changing climate.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Dec 20, 2021
Give the gift of going easy on yourself this holiday season
The holidays can be lonely for some people, especially after a trying year. Remember to reach out to others and take a moment to relax.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2021
As suicides rise amid the pandemic, Japan takes steps to tackle loneliness
What constitutes loneliness is a trickier question in Japan, where the overarching term 'kodoku' has been used to describe both loneliness and solitude, essentially lumping them together.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 12, 2020
Rising suicide figures reflect many women’s despair in a pandemic
Almost as anguishing as having no future is having an unknown one.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Dec 9, 2020
I achieved my wildest dreams. Then depression hit.
I’d spent my life training for the Olympics, but I wasn’t prepared for what came next.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2020
Japan suicides rise as economic impact of coronavirus hits home
Of October's cases, 851 were women, a rise of 82.6% over the same month in 2019. The number of suicides by men rose 21.3%.

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