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April 25, 2025
 

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MHLW

The labor ministry conducted the survey on foreign workers, the first of its kind, in October to November last year.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2024
Many foreign workers in Japan face high employment agency fees
The survey found that 14.4% of foreign workers in Japan are facing problems or difficulties at work.
Official prices of nearly half of drugs in Japan will be reduced to lower the burden on patients.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2024
Japan ministers agree on price cuts for half of all drugs
Ministers also agreed to raise the upper limit on out-of-pocket medical expenses.
From Dec. 9 to Dec. 15, there were 94,259 flu cases reported across some 5,000 hospitals and clinics nationwide, according to the health ministry.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 24, 2024
Health ministry urges caution as flu cases rise nationwide
There were 94,259 cases of the flu reported across some 5,000 hospitals and clinics nationwide in the second week of December.
Illegally cultivated cannabis plants uncovered by police at a home in Chiba Prefecture. Revised cannabis-related laws now criminalize the use of marijuana in addition to its possession and sale.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 12, 2024
Japan tightens cannabis laws amid rising youth usage
The use of marijuana has been criminalized, with the maximum penalty for possession, transfer and now usage set at up to seven years in prison.
Currently, if a hospital declines an organ due to logistical or other issues, it is instead offered to a patient at another facility.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 6, 2024
Multi-facility option set for patients awaiting organ transplants
The health ministry aims to address situations in which high-priority patients miss out on transplants due to logistical issues at their hospital.
The labor ministry will urge companies to take action against the practice of forcing employees to buy their own products to meet sales quotas.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 26, 2024
Japan steps up measures against firms forcing workers to buy own products
The labor ministry will define such practices as a form of power harassment and require companies to take action when they occur.
Health minister Takamaro Fukuoka in an interview last week
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2024
Government aims to ease care worker shortages through wage hikes
Staff shortages at care facilities are "very serious," Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Takamaro Fukuoka said.
A screenshot of a health ministry website that allows people to easily calculate the amount of time it takes for their body to break down the alcohol they have consumed
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 18, 2024
Japan ministry launches website to estimate alcohol breakdown time
The “Alcohol Watch” website allows people to enter the type and amount of drinks they consumed to calculate how long it will take for the alcohol to break down.
Draft guidelines on take-home bags drawn up by the health ministry aim to change the behavior of both customers and restaurants, and reduce food waste.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2024
Health ministry drafts to-go bag guidelines to cut down on food waste
Draft guidelines on take-home bags drawn up by the health ministry aim to change the behavior of both customers and restaurants, and reduce food waste.
An office worker inside a commercial building at night in Tokyo
JAPAN / Society
Oct 11, 2024
Widespread overwork and stress found in Japan's arts and health sectors
In the arts and entertainment sector, over 40% of technical staff and stage directors worked 60 hours or more in a week, a health ministry survey found.
Commuters at Tokyo Station in July. In Tokyo, cases of mycoplasma pneumonia, characterized by prolonged cough and fever, rose to a record high of 2.96 per medical facility in the fourth week of September.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 8, 2024
Mycoplasma pneumonia cases reach record high in late September
The disease, which commonly affects children and is usually accompanied by a fever and cough, typically surges in the transition from fall to winter.
A total of 509 patients in Japan had to give up on organ transplant operations last year because hospitals were unable to carry out such procedures, according to a health ministry survey.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 25, 2024
Hospital shortcomings forced 509 patients to abandon organ transplants
A lack of hospital staff and insufficient space in intensive care units needed for such operations were among the reasons.
The third straight annual rise in medical fees reflected Japan's aging population and the increased use of advanced medical equipment and technologies.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 4, 2024
Japan medical costs hit record high in fiscal year 2023
The third straight annual rise reflected the country's aging population and the increased use of advanced medical equipment and technologies.
If the number of births falls at a similar pace in the second half of 2024, the annual total could fall below 700,000 for the first time.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 31, 2024
Births in Japan hit record low for January to June period
If the number of births falls at a similar pace in the second half of 2024, the annual total could fall below 700,000 for the first time.
A government survey has found that 31.7% of men age 20 and older in Japan and 21% of women can be classed as obese.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 28, 2024
Obesity among Japanese men continuing to rise, government survey shows
The 2022 survey found that 31.7% of men age 20 and older had a body mass index, or BMI, of 25 or higher.
The health ministry will seek a record general-account budget of ¥34.3 trillion for fiscal 2025 amid increasing social security costs.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2024
Health ministry seeks record ¥34 trillion budget for fiscal 2025
The amount was pushed up by increasing social security costs that reflect the country's aging population.
The government is expanding subsidies for the use of robotics by nursing care facilities to reduce the burden on care staff amid a chronic labor shortage.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 25, 2024
Japan to expand nursing care robot introduction support
The government is working to reduce the burden on care staff while maintaining the quality of care services by utilizing robots.
A man tests his lung function free of charge using a device provided by the Tokushima Prefectural Government at an event organized by companies.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 19, 2024
Japan takes new steps against lifestyle-linked lung disease COPD
A health ministry survey highlighted 16,384 deaths from COPD in 2021, making it the ninth leading cause of death among men.
Health minister Keizo Takemi fields questions from reporters in March after a Cabinet meeting to deal with health problems caused by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's beni kōji red yeast rice supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2024
Health Minister Keizo Takemi on how to improve Japan's health care system
Digitalization, hiring high-skilled foreign workers and increasing wages are among the steps that Japan could take.
In the past 11 months, health minister Keizo Takemi has been charting his own path, seeking to make Japan's health care policies more global and digitalized.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2024
Global mindset crucial for reform of Japan's health care, minister says
International strategies and domestic health care reform are inextricably linked, says health minister Keizo Takemi.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Japan must correct Trump’s false data for trade talks, says Kono
Former Foreign Minister Taro Kono
Japan wants to 'separate' tariff and security issues. That may be tough.
Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, poses with a "Make America Great Again" cap at the White House in Washington on April 16.
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.
Japan set to fine cyclists on the spot for rule violations from 2026
Under new rules, those who use smartphones while riding a bicycle would be subject to the maximum fine of ¥12,000.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
Japan weighs using U.S. rice imports as tariff negotiation tool with Trump
A restaurant owner pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo
Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
Crow meat, goat tartare: Mauvaise Herbe raises its game
Crow meat, shaped into a ball and attached to a foot of the bird, is one of the peculiar offerings of game at Mauvaise Herbe.

Podcast

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

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones
Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

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