Tag - mhlw

 
 

MHLW

Japanese businesses traditionally all hire graduates at the same time each year, but about one in 10 recruits fresh from college quit their jobs within a year, government data shows.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 20, 2024
Japanese AI tool predicts when recruits will quit
The tool crunches data on employees at a company, from their attendance record to personal information such as age and gender.
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.
A building in Osaka's Chuo Ward housing the Kobayashi Pharmaceutical headquarters
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 7, 2024
Government holds hearings at Kobayashi Pharmaceutical on supplements
Of those who took the supplements, five people have died and 196 people have been hospitalized so far.
Lawyers representing families of former leprosy patients seeking damages from the state hold up signs in front of the Kumamoto District Court in June 2019 after winning the case.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 5, 2024
35% in Japan prejudiced against ex-leprosy patients: survey
The health ministry will consider necessary measures given the survey results.
The health ministry said Japan's oldest man, Gisaburo Sonobe, has died at age 112.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2024
Oldest Japanese man dies at 112
Sonobe, born in November 1911, became the oldest male in the country in November 2022.
Ayuko Kato, minister for policies related to children, speaks at a parliament session on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 2, 2024
One year on, Japan's children agency struggles to show leadership
The agency is facing challenges to demonstrate leadership, unable to move forward with unprecedented measures to combat the declining birthrate.
The combined number of new AIDS patients and other HIV carriers came to 960, according to preliminary data released by the health ministry on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 27, 2024
New HIV carriers in Japan up for the first time in seven years
The health ministry attributed the rise to a recovery in the number of HIV test takers after a drop due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hiroo Inubuse, a pharmacist at Echizenbori Drugstore in Tokyo, said that the drug shortage has been severe since last summer.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 25, 2024
Health ministry to publish up-to-date drug supply data from April
The move aims to allow medical institutions to take proactive measures such as preparing alternative medications in the event of an anticipated shortage.
A Filipino care worker talks to an elderly resident at a hospital in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 23, 2024
Japan to allow foreign nationals to engage in home care services
Currently, foreign technical intern trainees and foreign workers with so-called specified skills are banned from engaging in the services.
A group of Vietnamese care workers attend a send-off event before heading to Japan, in Trung Hoa, Vietnam, 2014.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 13, 2024
Japan to adjust structure of care worker exam, easing path to success
The revisions will allow those who fail in the exam but receive passing scores for certain test sections to be exempted from retaking those sections.
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.
The ratio of men who took paternity leave stood at 17.1% in a survey for the fiscal year from April 2022, far below the government's 2025 target of 50%.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2024
Japan plans to make firms set and disclose paternity leave targets
Under a planned bill, companies with over 100 employees would have to set and disclose the targets from April 2025.
The health ministry has adopted its first guidelines on alcohol consumption to raise awareness of its health risks.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 19, 2024
Japan draws up guidelines on alcohol consumption
The guidelines set out the amount of alcohol consumed that raises the risk of developing diseases, in a bid to encourage people to drink in moderation.
Vietnamese people take Japanese lessons in Hanoi in June 2023 before heading to Japan to work.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2024
Number of foreign workers in Japan surpasses 2 million for first time
Tokyo has the largest population of foreign workers, followed by Aichi and Osaka prefectures.
A suicide helpline worker takes calls in Tokyo. Health ministry officials say that comprehensive countermeasures are needed to realize a society in which people do not feel suicidal.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 26, 2024
Suicides in Japan decreased slightly to 21,818 in 2023
The decrease marks the first decline in the number of suicides in two years.
Gummy products containing hexahydrocannabihexol, which resembles a cannabis compound.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 22, 2023
Japan bans sale of 38 goods with synthetic cannabis compounds
The ban applies to items containing any of five substances, including hexahydrocannabiphorol and tetrahydrocannabiphorol acetate.
An electron microscopic image shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virus particles.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 13, 2023
Japan confirms first death from mpox in country
Japan's first case of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, was confirmed in July last year.
public spending for people with disabilities as a percentage of gross domestic product has been very low, at 0.7% to 1.2%, compared with the roughly 2% average by OECD countries.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 9, 2023
Japan facilities for disabled people face serious labor shortages
The industry has been affected by low wages and a shrinking population, according to an industry survey.
The health ministry compiled a draft plan to strengthen regulations on the sales of over-the-counter drugs, including banning retailers from selling cough and cold remedies that may be abused to people under 20 in large volume.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2023
Japan to tighten regulations on over-the-counter drug sales
The plan comes in response to the spread of overdoses mainly among young people.
Yoshikazu Uchikawa, head lawyer representing plaintiffs of a lawsuit demanding that cuts in welfare benefits be revoked, speaks at a news conference in Nagoya on Thursday following a Nagoya High Court ruling.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 1, 2023
Japan high court revokes welfare benefit cuts
The plaintiffs argued that there was an error in the method for calculating the price index used as the basis for the reductions.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores