Suicides in Japan fell below 20,000 to record low last year
After a decade of belated effort, reported suicides are hovering below 20,000 for the first time since record-keeping began in 1978, preliminary figures show.
Japan to urge firms to employ workers until age 70 from next year
The labor ministry plans to urge companies from April 2021 to ensure jobs are available for workers until the age of 70, it was learned Wednesday. The ministry will also require large companies with over 300 workers to publish the number of mid-career hires on ...
12% of young Japanese play video games for six hours or more on days off
Twelve percent of Japanese people age 10 to 29 play smartphone and video games for six hours or more on their days off school or work, a survey showed Wednesday. The survey also found that those who play games for long periods tend to show ...
A subcommittee of a labor ministry panel on Wednesday gave its approval to draft guidelines on preventing power harassment in workplaces, requiring companies to clearly ban such practices. The draft, approved by the Labor Policy Council subcommittee, lists detailed examples of problematic actions, such as ...
Japan to permit antidote injections by rescue workers in cases of bioterrorism
The health ministry said Thursday that antidote auto-injections by non-medical professionals, such as rescue workers, will be permitted should toxic agents be dispersed in a terrorist attack. The move is designed to prepare for any chemical terrorist attack in the run-up to next year's Tokyo ...
Japan could face shortage of 270,000 nursing staff by 2025, ministry warns
With baby boomers being at least 75 by 2025, social security spending by the government and demand for medical practitioners are expected to rise rapidly.
Japanese government to study whether to introduce joint custody of children after divorce
There has been opposition to the idea, with some people expressing concern that it could adversely affect children if their parents are at odds.
Health ministry names 424 public hospitals that need to consider reform
The health ministry on Thursday published a list of 424 public medical institutions it has deemed to be in need of possible consolidation and realignment. The move is aimed at speeding up the streamlining of the medical sector and suppressing ballooning medical costs ahead of ...
Japan may have mistakenly taken remains of 600 foreigners in hunt for war dead, ministry admits
Japan may have mistakenly collected the remains of nearly 600 non-Japanese in Russia under a long-term project to find the remains of its war dead, the welfare ministry said Thursday. Experts have pointed to the possibility for years, but the ministry, which oversees the task, ...
Ministry says Recruit Career acted illegally in Rikunabi data scandal and demands corrective steps
The labor ministry said Friday it had issued administrative guidance to Recruit Career Co. for selling to its clients web browsing data predicting the odds of job-hunting students declining informal job offers, without the students' consent. The ministry determined that selling the data violated the ...
Record low of 16,772 children on day care waiting lists in Japan, welfare ministry says
The ministry says the lists are at their shortest since it began tracking them in 1994, but demand is expected to grow when free services kick off in October.
Nearly 40% of Japan government institutions miss hiring targets for people with disabilities
But the 44 state institutions have reached over 80 percent of the overall hiring target set for year-end.
