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August 31, 2025
 

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HEALTH

The health ministry is considering allowing nationwide pharmacy sales of emergency contraceptive pills without requiring age restrictions or parental approval.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 28, 2025
Japan weighs OTC sales of emergency contraceptive pills without age limit
To ensure proper use, the plan would require that the morning-after pill be taken in the presence of a pharmacist.
Kokichi Akuzawa, a 102-year-old Japanese man with a serious hear condition, has been certified as the oldest person to climb Mount Fuji.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2025
Japanese climber, 102, sets Mount Fuji record
"I have been there and seen the view many times, it wasn't anything special," said Kokichi Akuzawa, shrugging off the feat.
An advertisement for McDonald's new protein slice is displayed on an ordering kiosk at a McDonald's restaurant in Bengaluru, India
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Aug 26, 2025
In protein-deficient India, McDonald's, Bollywood and cricket fuel wellness craze
McDonald's has joined India's biggest dairy Amul, startups and a company backed by Bollywood superstar to unleash a marketing blitz with celebrity chefs pushing protein as crucial.
A measles alert sign is posted outside the entrance to the Cohen Children's Medical Center in New York in March.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2025
‘Alternative facts’ aren't a reason to skip vaccines
Donald Trump’s health officials have been endorsing alternative facts in science to impose policies that contradict modern medical knowledge.
A screwworm in Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, on July 4
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 25, 2025
Human screwworm case in U.S. traced to person who traveled from Guatemala
Screwworms can be devastating in cattle and wildlife, and rarely infest humans, though an infestation in either an animal or a person can be fatal.
The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump temporarily cut off medical research grants that government officials say don’t align with his policies.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 22, 2025
U.S. Supreme Court lets Trump administration cut millions worth of medical grants
The court left open the possibility that grant recipients could sue in a different federal court to recoup wrongfully withheld funds.
The World Health Organization's funding squeeze was sparked by the U.S. decision to leave the agency, announced on day one of Donald Trump’s presidency in January this year.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 22, 2025
WHO plans to relocate units and cease some work in wake of U.S. withdrawal
The organization cut its 2026-27 budget by 21% in May, has already halved its management team, and has seen over 400 staff depart since January.
A catch-all term for tendonitis and arthritis caused by excessive smartphone use, 'sumaho yubi' may be difficult to treat for gadget-crazy Japan.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 22, 2025
Fingers sore from too much phone time? You might have ‘sumaho yubi.’
One doctor says the symptoms of smartphone-induced tendonitis and arthritis are on the rise for those in the 20s, 30s and 40s.
An illustration of a colony of the Bordetella pertussis bacterium that causes pertussis, or whooping cough. As of Aug. 10, there were 64,467 cases reported this year, according to the latest data from the Japan Institute for Health Security.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 21, 2025
Infectious diseases to watch for in Japan this summer amid surge of cases
Experts believe a recent surge in infections is due to relaxed hygiene measures, drug-resistant bacteria and lowered immunity levels amid extreme heat.
A menstrual product dispenser installed in a restroom at the Osaka Healthcare Pavilion during the Osaka Expo.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2025
Free menstrual products made available in restrooms at Osaka Expo
The effort is part of an Osaka University initiative that aims to address period poverty and raise public awareness.
A research team from Kyoto University has announced that it is the first in the world to create 3D jawbone-like organoids from human induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 19, 2025
Kyoto University group successfully creates jawbone from iPS cells
The team expects that its method will be applied to regenerative medicine and drug discovery.
Two boys pose with Pocari Sweat and Aquarius sports drinks in a park near Tokyo.
SPORTS
Aug 19, 2025
The great sports drink debate: What’s best for athletes?
When it comes to the classic debate of Pocari versus Aquari, fans on both sides have strong opinions about which sports drink reigns supreme.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaks during a news conference at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington on July 29.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 16, 2025
Draft of Trump’s health blueprint avoids industry crackdown
The draft was dated Aug. 11, but could still see changes before it’s finalized, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Among the middle school students who admitted to abusing over-the-counter medication, the majority — around 64% — said they got them from pharmacies while a third said they had access to them in their own households.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 13, 2025
1 in 55 Japanese middle schoolers abuse over-the-counter drugs, survey shows
Most of them got the drugs from pharmacies and their own households.
People huddle near a large fan blowing icy-cold mist at the Osaka Expo on July 12. Amid Japan's relentless summer heat, organizes have put myriad measures in place in order to keep guests safe.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Aug 10, 2025
Osaka Expo highlights the challenge of holding events in Japan's scorching summer
Giant umbrellas, mist fans and human-sized ice boxes are some of the many ways organizers are offering respite to visitors.
A cyclist looks at the Montreal skyline on Aug. 3 as a smoky haze from wildfires blankets the city.
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 10, 2025
How Canadian wildfire smoke is jeopardizing health across North America
Canadian provinces have evacuated towns and struggled to contain the second-worst wildfire season in 30 years.
Chugai Pharmaceutical shares sank as much as 20% in Tokyo on Friday after a study revealed that an obesity drug it licensed to Eli Lilly & Co. resulted in lower weight loss and higher rates of nausea and vomiting than anticipated.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 8, 2025
Chugai stock drops the most since 1977 on disappointing obesity drug data
A study showed the drug, which it has licensed to Eli Lilly & Co., resulted in lower weight loss and higher rates of nausea and vomiting than anticipated.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to cancel funding for mRNA vaccine development dismantles an important public health tool and could weaken America’s ability to respond to future pandemics.
COMMENTARY
Aug 8, 2025
RFK Jr.’s mRNA decision may be his worst yet
U.S. Health Secretary RFK Jr.’s decision to cancel funding for mRNA vaccine development dismantles a public health tool and could weaken the ability to respond to future pandemics.
The price of Alzheimer's drug Lecanemab, codeveloped by Japanese drugmaker Eisai and U.S. industry peer Biogen, will be lowered to ¥97,277 for a 500-milligram bottle.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 7, 2025
Japan approves price cut for Alzheimer's drug Lecanemab
The drug's price will be lowered to ¥97,277 for a 500-milligram bottle starting on Nov. 1.
Sumitomo Pharma applied to Japanese regulators for manufacturing and marketing authorization aimed at treating patients with advanced Parkinson's disease.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 5, 2025
Drugmaker in Japan seeks approval for stem cell treatment for Parkinson's
A trial led by Kyoto University researchers indicated treatment using induced Pluripotent Stem cells was safe and successful in improving symptoms of the disease.
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Japan to launch broad review of immigration policies amid rise in foreign nationals
Foreign tourists at Narita Airport in June. A report released Friday stresses that Japan is at a turning point and that current ad-hoc measures on immigration are no longer sufficient.
Top Japan trade negotiator canceled U.S. trip over rice, report says
Ryosei Akazawa
Most Japanese teens struggling with school find end of summer ‘painful’
Some 93.1% of Japanese teenagers who struggle with school life said they felt like they “wanted to disappear from the world" at the end of summer vacation ahead of the start of a new term, according to a recent survey released by Yokohama-based nonprofit Daisan Kazoku.
Most Trump tariffs are not legal, U.S. appeals court rules
Workers hang a large poster of U.S. President Donald Trump on the facade of the Department of Labor headquarters building in Washington on Wednesday.
Japan to launch broad review of immigration policies amid rise in foreign nationals
Foreign tourists at Narita Airport in June. A report released Friday stresses that Japan is at a turning point and that current ad-hoc measures on immigration are no longer sufficient.
YouTube Music Weekend is where Japan’s internet-born performers go global
Headlining the second day of YouTube Music Weekend is Vocaloid artist Kikuo, who, with 1.46 million YouTube subscribers, is one of the most popular artists in the genre.
Japan looks to build drone ‘shield’ in record defense budget request
A group of Ground Self-Defense Force service members discuss drone operations and capabilities at a joint static display during the Orient Shield 24 opening ceremony at the Yausubetsu Training Area in Hokkaido in July last year.
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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