Health News in Japan

Japan sees record number of workers’ compensation approvals for mental health in fiscal 2025

The figure, published in this year's white paper on measures to prevent karōshi, marked a record high for the seventh consecutive year.

As influenza cases rise, residents rush to get flu shots

The average number of flu patients in Japan jumped to 11.35 per clinic for the week through Oct. 4.

AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo to collaborate with Summit Therapeutics

This builds on a recently announced clinical collaboration between AstraZeneca and Summit to advance cancer treatments

For mind and body, Tokyo hopes for brighter October after record run of rain

Lack of sunlight, like what the Kanto region experienced during its record string of rainy days, can cause seasonal affective disorder.

One phrase I learned while living in Japan for a year has helped me become a more flexible, laid-back person

During my time living in Japan, I learned a useful phrase/concept: "shōganai." It's helped me stress less and be more laid-back when things go wrong.

Japan holds first ‘competitive sleeping’ contest

Sleep deprivation is seen these days as a major health issue - not least of all in Japan where people sleep less on average than in any other OECD country. Now, a new contest fo...

As state funding stalls, medical researchers in Japan pivot to crowdfunding

Medical campaigns have surged, particularly since the pandemic, when the acute shortage of resources at some hospitals became widely known.

Elderly people find ways to keep living with pets

A nursing home in Kanagawa Prefecture is welcoming pets to stay in its facility along with their owners.

A few drops of this Japanese tree oil may help you sleep more soundly

In a small study, sleeping near the scent of Hinoki root essential oil was linked to fewer nighttime awakenings, better morning alertness, and brain-wave changes associated with...

Flu spreads in quake-hit Kumamoto as Japan sees early outbreak

With more than 1,300 people still in evacuation centers two months after the temblor, an expert has stressed the importance of early vaccination.

Japan hit by nationwide flu outbreak

The health ministry is asking the public to take basic precautions against infection such as handwashing and covering the mouth when coughing.

Is Japanese Hair Straightening Worth It? Stylists and Dermatologists Weigh In

If you’ve spent years working through blow-dries and flat iron passes to keep curly, wavy or frizzy hair under control, Japanese hair straightening offers a different path. The ...

7 Things That Changed My Life in September

GQ’s wellness-and-grooming director shares the best products she tried this month, including a Japanese pepper balm and a relaxing sound frequency app.

Japanese hospital performs world-first surgery using heart muscle stem cells

Sheets of muscle cells derived from regenerative products known as iPS cells were transplanted into the heart of a patient in her 50s.

Japan’s health cost caps rise, widening gaps between insurers

Japan's health care system is often held up abroad as a model of universal coverage, but universal does not mean uniform.

Importation-Driven Measles Resurgence and the Fragility of Elimination, Japan, 2024–2026

K. Yuji et al.

Japan can lead the world in making preventive health pay

Japan can strengthen healthy aging and economic resilience by expanding adult respiratory vaccination to reduce disease burden.

Daiichi Sankyo, Merck withdraw bid for accelerated approval of I-DXd in small cell lung cancer

Hong Kong customs arrests 2, seizes HK$290,000 of ‘slimming injections’ from Japan

Hong Kong customs officers have seized 400 so-called slimming injections imported from Japan, with an estimated market value of about HK$290,000 (US$36,970), and arrested two lo...

Residents in Yatsushiro face well water issues following July earthquake

Yatsushiro's public water supply coverage rate is only 52.1%, leaving nearly half of local households reliant on well water as an essential lifeline.