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August 23, 2025
 

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MHLW

Akio Kuroi holds a photograph of his father, Keijiro, as he speaks during an interview in Tokyo in April about how his father had changed after World War II.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 13, 2025
'War trauma' transformed caring father into a complete stranger
A growing number of family members of former Japanese servicemen are sharing their experiences, prompting the government to launch a survey to document such realities.
Nominal wages in Japan rose 2.5% in June from a year earlier, accelerating from a revised 1.4% gain the previous month, according to the labor ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 6, 2025
Japan’s nominal pay rises faster in June, backing case for BOJ rate hike
Nominal wages increased 2.5% in June from a year earlier, accelerating from a revised 1.4% gain the previous month and marking the steepest increase since February.
Amid rising prices for food and other items, a government panel has proposed a record hike in the average minimum wage.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 5, 2025
Amid inflation, Japanese government panel proposes record ¥63 minimum wage hike
The recommendation by the panel, which advises the labor minister, would raise the average minimum wage to ¥1,118 per hour.
The proposed hike in the national average minimum wage to about ¥1,118 ($7.43) per hour would exceed last year's increase of 5% and be the largest since the current system began.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2025
Japan plans another record minimum wage hike, says report
The proposed hike, to about ¥1,118 per hour, would exceed last year's increase of 5%.
Japan's seasonally adjusted effective job-to-applicant ratio dipped to 1.22 in June, down 0.02 point from the previous month, according to the labor ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 1, 2025
Japan's jobs-to-applicant ratio falls to 1.22 in June
It marked a second consecutive month of decreases as more people entered the job market amid soaring prices of food and other goods.
Japan's oldest person, Miyoko Hiroyasu, died Tuesday at the age of 114, according to the health ministry.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 31, 2025
Japan's oldest person dies at 114
Miyoko Hiroyasu, from the city of Nakatsu in Oita Prefecture, was born in January 1911. She died on Tuesday.
Eighty percent of high school students in Japan expressed interest in wage rules, followed by working hour rules, at 79.5%, according to the results of a questionnaire survey released by the labor ministry on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2025
80% of high schoolers in Japan show interest in wages and labor systems
Civics classes were cited as good opportunities for high school students to learn about social security systems.
By 2040, demand for cancer surgeries in Japan is projected to decrease by 5% by 2040, while that for radiotherapy is projected to increase by 24%.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 25, 2025
Health ministry panel calls for consolidating cancer care provision
A health ministry panel has called for consolidating surgeries and radiotherapies for cancer treatment, citing such reasons as the dwindling number of surgeons in Japan.
The average life expectancy of Japanese citizens in 2024 is 81.09 years for men and 87.13 years for women, according to the health ministry.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 25, 2025
Japan's average life expectancy in 2024 almost unchanged from 2023, data shows
The life expectancy of Japanese men was sixth globally in 2024, while that of Japanese women remained in the top spot.
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.
The total number of births dropped to about 686,000, marking the first time the figure has fallen below 700,000, according to a health ministry release on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2025
Japan’s fertility rate hits record low despite government push
The new low underscores the immense challenge facing the government as it attempts to reverse the trend in one of the world’s most aged societies.
The government should "design a specific system by around fiscal 2026 to make standard childbirth expenses free of charge,” an expert panel said, as the aging nation seeks to reverse its declining population and shrinking pool of tax-paying workers.
JAPAN
May 15, 2025
Expert panel suggests Japan’s government make childbirth free
The proposal follows a child care policy package adopted in 2023 to reverse Japan’s declining birthrate by supporting families with young children.
Nominal cash earnings rose 2.1% from a year earlier, decelerating from a revised 2.7% pace in February and below a median economist forecast of 2.5%, according to the labor ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2025
Japan’s nominal wage growth slows, backing case for BOJ caution
Nominal cash earnings rose 2.1% from a year earlier, decelerating from a revised 2.7% pace in February and below a median economist forecast of 2.5%.
The health ministry and some municipalities are turning to spot workers to solve the labor shortage in the nursing care industry.
JAPAN / Society
May 5, 2025
More nursing care facilities in Japan embrace 'spot work' amid labor shortage
The demand for care providers is expected to rise to around 2.4 million by fiscal 2026 and about 2.72 million by fiscal 2040.
Visitors look at the preserved Atomic Bomb Dome in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in the city of Hiroshima in October.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2025
80 years on, Japan's government seeks testimonies from all hibakusha
It is the first time in 30 years that the government has sought cooperation from all hibakusha over testimonies.
A ceremony to open the Japan Institute for Health Security is held in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on April 4.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2025
Japan's new health institute gives first acute respiratory infection cases tally
This was the first tally of such cases since ARI was designated as a Category V disease under the infectious diseases control law.
Lawyers for plaintiffs seeking compensation from the government over their deteriorated health due to working in an asbestos factory speak at a news conference in the city of Osaka on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 18, 2025
High court overturns asbestos ruling, ordering government to pay ¥6 million
A Japanese court ruled in favor of an asbestos victim’s family, saying the government wrongly narrowed compensation criteria in 2019.
Commuters in Tokyo. ARIs are infectious diseases with respiratory symptoms, such as COVID-19 and influenza.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 8, 2025
Japan begins monitoring acute respiratory infections
The number of patients with ARIs will be published to help the public protect themselves from infections.
A volunteer handles an incoming call at the Tokyo Befrienders call center, a suicide hotline center in Japan's capital.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 28, 2025
School-age suicides in Japan hit all-time high
The number of suicides among elementary, junior high and high school students exceeded 500 for a third consecutive year in 2024 despite a drop in the overall figure.
Emergency medical workers treat victims of the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system at a makeshift shelter before they are transported to hospitals on March 20, 1995.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2025
Japan to preserve medical records from 1995 sarin attack
The health ministry will also interview medical professionals who treated the victims and compile oral records.
Japan to revise romanization rules for first time in 70 years
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is recommending replacing the government’s long-standing Kunrei system with more widely used Hepburn-style spellings.
JR East cancels luxury train run over crew's boozing
East Japan Railway said Thursday that it will cancel one trip of a luxury overnight sleeper service, which was originally scheduled to depart from Ueno Station in Tokyo on Aug. 30, after crew members were found to have been drinking alcohol on duty.
Demystifying the manufacturing success of China
China’s massive scale, strong education system and competitive local governance have enabled it to reach the technological frontier and dominate high-tech manufacturing despite its low per capita gross domestic product.
Infectious diseases to watch for in Japan this summer amid surge of cases
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.
103-year-old remembers Soviet attack right after WWII
Shoichi Takahashi holds a photo of himself when he was younger, in Otaru, Hokkaido, on May 17.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
Big burgers and bigger ambitions for Japan's Burger King
Kazuhiro Nomura, president of BK Japan Holdings, which operates Burger King in Japan
Tokyo crowned No.1 'workation' spot
Workations were a burgeoning trend in the corporate world for years before the COVID-19 pandemic turbocharged it.
Atsushi Kitagawara’s exhibition finds poetry in architecture
The inverted cone, one of Atsushi Kitagawara’s six signature elements in architecture, is a key feature of the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection museum building.
Candidates preparing to make final pitches for Sawamura Award
Hawks pitcher Livan Moinelo has a 1.13 ERA in 19 starts this season.

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

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