Tag - mental health

 
 

MENTAL HEALTH

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jul 21, 2025
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan
AI chatbots are becoming stand-ins for pets and partners — offering comfort, connection and raising new concerns.
Daria Slavytska takes shelter inside a metro station with her 2-year-old son Emil during a Russian missile and drone strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 9.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 19, 2025
Sleepless in Kyiv: How Ukraine's capital copes with Russia's nighttime attacks
Russia's offensive is straining Kyiv's air defenses and has its 3.7 million residents exhausted and on edge.
Brothers Andrii Tupkalenko, 8, and Maksym Tupkalenko, 6, two of the last children left in their front-line village, pose for a photo with toy guns, their favorite toys, in Kalynove, Kharkiv region, Ukraine.
WORLD / Society
Jul 12, 2025
Childhood shaped by war for two Ukrainian brothers
The war in Ukraine is reshaping the fabric of ravaged frontier communities and leaving unseen as well as visible injuries on their youngest.
The people tasked with removing harmful content from tech giants like Meta Platforms or TikTok report a range of noxious health effects, from loss of appetite to anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 4, 2025
Content moderators for Big Tech unite to tackle mental trauma
Social media companies are facing increasing pressure to address the emotional toll of moderation, with many moderators reporting a range of toxic health effects.
The leading cause of workers experiencing work-related mental health issues was power harassment, or an abuse of authority from superiors, which accounted for 224 cases.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 26, 2025
Work-related mental health cases hit record high in Japan
The leading cause of such cases was power harassment, or an abuse of authority from superiors.
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.
About 41% of LGBTQ+ teens could not find people or places they could consult with about their struggles with gender identity or sexual orientation.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2025
Over half of LGBTQ+ teens in Japan have considered suicide, survey finds
Of the 90% of junior high and high school students who said they had experienced harassment at school, 64% said such harassment came from teachers.
Science suggests that three days of “shinrin-yoku” (forest bathing) is enough to boost immunity for an entire month.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 21, 2025
The science of shinrin-yoku: Why forest bathing feels good
Science suggests that three days of “shinrin-yoku” forest bathing is enough to boost immunity for an entire month.
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.
The primary causes for long-term sick leave among women in their 20s included mental illness, such as depression and anxiety disorders, a survey has found.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2025
Women in their 20s have higher rate of long-term sick leave, survey finds
The primary causes included mental illness, such as depression and anxiety disorders, as well as pregnancy-related problems.
A screen shows the Muchu College metaverse school, with avatars and the face of Hiroaki Tsujita, CEO of operator Wowfull.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jun 16, 2025
Metaverse and local subsidies help children in alternative learning
Municipalities are subsidizing the use of alternative educational institutions to help families with children who are not attending regular schools.
A man holding a baby wades through a flooded road following heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou, China, in July 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 13, 2025
Natural disasters may be shaping babies’ brains
The findings signal how new generations of children may be marked by climate crises that occur before they were born.
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.
Brian Wilson is seen at home in Beverly Hills in 2004. Wilson, who as the leader and chief songwriter of the Beach Boys became rock’s poet laureate of surf-and-sun innocence, was also the embodiment of damaged genius through his struggles with mental illness and drugs.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 12, 2025
Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson dies at age 82
The band defined California beach culture for a generation, with Wilson achieving what many musicians saw as perfection in "Pet Sounds."
Novak Djokovic plays a forehand return to Italy's Jannik Sinner during their men's singles semifinal match on day 13 of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris on June 6, 2025.
TENNIS
Jun 11, 2025
No rest, no gain: Novak Djokovic’s go-to tools for a mind and body reset
Japan residents with deep pockets now have a chance to replicate Djokovic’s wellness and longevity routines at Aman Tokyo.
Experts are calling on people not to miss children's signs of trouble, particularly in June after fatigue can accumulate over the two months since the beginning of the school year in April.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 9, 2025
Experts warn of 'June syndrome' among children in Japan
Much like the better-known May syndrome, or May blues, June syndrome is a general term for mental and physical disorders and is medically classified as adjustment disorder.
New data from the National Police Agency shows patterns in where dementia are found after going missing, and how best to locate them.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2025
491 dementia sufferers found dead in Japan in 2024
Many who were declared missing were later rescued thanks to GPS or other tracking devices attached to their clothing.
The LGBTQ  community in the U.S. has expressed shock and dismay regarding government plans to slash the Health and Human Services Department's budget, which includes the elimination of specialised mental health services for LGBTQ  youth.
WORLD / Society
Jun 3, 2025
LGBTQ+ suicide risk rises as Trump cuts mental health services
Since returning to office in January, Trump has signed executive orders to curb LGBTQ+ rights, many of which directly impact young people.
The entrance to a cave on Okinawa’s main island where a former Japanese soldier confessed to having killed a mother and child during World War II
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 2, 2025
How the scars of war in Okinawa are being healed by a psychologist
A clinical psychologist has formed grief care groups for survivors of war across Okinawa to help try to heal their emotional scars.
Elon Musk boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland in March. As Musk became one of Donald Trump's closest allies last year, he was also using drugs far more intensely than previously known, according to people familiar with his activities.
WORLD / Politics
May 31, 2025
On the Trump campaign trail, Elon Musk juggled drugs and family drama
Musk’s drug consumption went well beyond occasional use and also came as he dealt with personal drama related to his growing number of children.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan