Tag - nursing-care

 
 

NURSING CARE

Investigators enter the elderly care facility where two female residents were killed in Tsurugashima, Saitama Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 16, 2025
Suspect in murders at Saitama facility allegedly snuck in using old passcode
Police suspect Toya Kimura, 22, a former worker at the care facility, used prior knowledge of the building's security system to gain entry.
The Saitama Prefectural Police headquarters in the city of Saitama. Police have apprehended a former employee of a care facility in Saitama Prefecture following the deaths of two residents who were discovered bleeding and unconscious on their beds early Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 15, 2025
Former employee of Saitama care home held after deaths of two residents
A staffer at the facility in Tsurugashima called the police after a nurse found the two women in their 80s and 90s bleeding and unconscious on their beds.
Itsumi Tanaka smiles as she is complimented during lunchtime at Grandma’s Cafe in the city of Fukuoka.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Sep 29, 2025
‘Grandma’s Cafe’ offers purpose and income for elderly
A company in Fukuoka Prefecture is operating unique eateries where elderly women, some with dementia, welcome guests with homestyle cooking.
Mariko Kamijo (left) interacts with users of her nursing care facility called Isshoen, in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, in July.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2025
Chinese-language care supports aging Japanese war orphans
Many Japanese war orphans left behind in China at the end of World War II and repatriated decades later struggle to adapt to nursing homes because of language barriers.
The education ministry plans to implement reskilling programs to achieve wage hikes for essential workers and the employment ice age generation.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2025
Japan to promote vocational reskilling to target wage increases
The initiative will be carried out in collaboration with companies specializing in digital technology and will help participants acquire productivity-boosting skills.
The government is trying to make it easier for companies to develop services in the fields of nursing care and elderly support services by promoting cooperation with local governments.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 23, 2025
As Japan grays, government looks to aid public-private cooperation in nursing care
The initiative is aimed at making it easier for companies to develop services in the fields by helping them understand demand in each region.
Political parties have pledged to reduce social security premiums and raise salaries for medical and nursing care workers in their campaigning for the upcoming Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 9, 2025
Premiums and wages at heart of social security debate ahead of Upper House vote
Social security premiums in Japan grew from ¥26.7 trillion in fiscal 2000 to ¥40.7 trillion in fiscal 2022.
The Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 29, 2025
Care worker arrested over sexual abuse of woman with dementia
The abuse was discovered while police were investigating the case of a different person who had died at the same group home for the elderly.
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.
A survey by a labor union of home care business operators and care managers found that nearly 90% of facility managers had turned down service requests at least once during the past year, citing insufficient staffing.
JAPAN
May 5, 2025
Worker shortage forcing home care providers to turn away clients, survey finds
In the survey, 19.3% of care managers said some older adults are being left without any care at all due to a worker shortage.
High school student Soa Ono, 17, assists an elderly woman during a recreational activity at a nursing care facility in Nagoya in late February.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 7, 2025
Caregiver apprenticeship for high school students expanding in Aichi
The program allows apprentices to earn an income while acquiring knowledge and skills through hands-on experience.
The government plans to allow foreign nationals to engage in home care services, a sector struggling with a labor shortage.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2025
Japan looks to allow foreign nationals to engage in home care services
Non-Japanese would be allowed to work in the sector if they meet certain conditions, such as receiving training.
Retirees dance at a park in Beijing
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2025
Singapore hospital operator targets wealthy boomers in China
The company is building similar projects in major Chinese cities, investing 31 billion yuan in medical and eldercare.
People in temporary housing units in quake-hit Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, use a bus to go out on Dec. 16.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 29, 2024
Nursing care needs surge in Noto quake-hit areas
The increase is believed to be due to a drop in daily exercise amid prolonged living in temporary housing because of disaster-related evacuations.
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.
Violin, a day care center for the elderly, is housed in a building that used be an office of the Kudokai crime syndicate in the city of Kitakyushu. It retains the original look of the Kudokai facility, with its thick steel-plated front door, glittering chandelier and marble floor.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Oct 28, 2024
Former yakuza office repurposed to become elderly care facility
The building that houses Violin, a day care center for the elderly, was once one of the main facilities for the Kudokai syndicate.
With projections indicating a population drop in Japan from around 125 million to 63 million by 2100, traditional solutions like immigration and labor reforms are unlikely to be effective in time.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 15, 2024
Japan should master, not resist, its demographic destiny
Japan needs a strategic reorientation toward accepting and mastering its demographic changes rather than resisting them.
A survey showed the use of terminal care and attended deaths at home kept increasing after surging in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 11, 2024
Terminal care at home surged in Japan during COVID-19 pandemic
Cases of terminal care at home grew for clinics certified to meet standards for supporting home care, such as having doctors available to make house visits.
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.

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