Coronavirus now in Gaza and Syria, raising fears in vulnerable areas
The arrival of the coronavirus in the Gaza Strip, an impoverished enclave where the health care system has been gutted by years of conflict, and Syria, which has been devastated by nine years of civil war and sanctions, raised fears Sunday that the pandemic ...
Why are Japan’s millennials shunning alcohol?
Some time before the coronavirus outbreak put a damper on this year’s hanami (blossom viewing) parties and other social activities, the media had already noted that the decline in alcohol consumption by younger Japanese has been accelerating. This phenomenon even made the front page ...
Magazine faces 'Big Issue dilemma' as Japan's homeless ranks shrink
Teruo Irishima, a homeless man from Nara Prefecture, earns a living by selling The Big Issue Japan, a magazine published around the world to give people in situations like his a leg up in life. Irishima, 56, started selling the magazine around 10 years ago. ...
Virus shuts down facilities offering low cost kids' meals in Japan
A growing number of kodomo shokudō eateries that offer free or low-priced meals to children, including those from poor families, have suspended operations amid the spread of COVID-19. The closures come at a time when some such facilities are all the more eager to continue ...
Personal stress, not laziness, perpetuates the poverty rut
Many believe lifestyles are due to low effort, but economists are starting to accumulate evidence that the stress of living in poverty drives people to subpar decisions.
Growing up in poverty and broken homes, Kawasaki youths find savior in rap
Weathered signs from five years ago stand forlornly on a bank of the Tama River in Kawasaki, politely asking visitors to refrain from laying any more flowers of condolence so they don't accidentally catch fire. But the scene is otherwise absent of any reminder of ...
Kawasaki, known for poverty and pollution, confronts gentrification
Surrounded by bustling downtown streets, shopping malls and high-rises, Kawasaki Station and its vicinity are, on the surface, a paragon of urban development. Just a short distance away, however, this veneer of prosperity gives way to an eerie quiet that persists in the underbelly of ...
Quickly reducing global inequities is crucial to fulfilling the U.N.'s 2030 agenda.
Global survey finds capitalism is apparently doing more harm than good
A majority of people around the world believe capitalism in its current form is doing more harm than good, a survey found ahead of this week's Davos meeting of business and political leaders. This year was the first time the Edelman Trust Barometer, which for ...
Low-income people in Japan more likely to smoke, health ministry report reveals
Smoking rates among low-income people exceed those of their higher-income counterparts, the health ministry said in a national health and nutrition survey report Tuesday. The survey showed that one in three men with an annual income of less than ¥2 million smokes. "Health disparities remain in ...
Japanese women face a future of poverty, as confluence of factors conspire against them
At first glance, things seem to be getting better for Japanese women. In an economy that's historically lagged other developed nations when it comes to female workforce participation, a record 71 percent are now employed, an 11 point leap over a decade ago. The government boasts ...
Sixty years after era of independence, African nations seek right model for growth
As 1960 dawned, sub-Saharan Africa braced for historic change: that year, 17 of its countries were destined to gain independence from European colonial powers. But six decades on, the continent is mired in many problems. It is struggling to build an economic model that encourages ...
