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July 06, 2026
 

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MHLW

A care worker demonstrates exercises for residents at a nursing home in Tokyo. A decision on raising the share of nursing-care costs paid by older people has been postponed again by the government.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Feb 24, 2026
Expansion of nursing care costs delayed again
The government is shelving until fiscal 2026 a plan to widen the scope of those required to make a 20% copayment, concerned the move could add to the burden of higher costs.
Myocardial sheets made from iPS cells
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2026
Japan panel OKs medical products using iPS cells
The products, if approved by the health minister, are expected to be the world’s first of their kind.
Passengers walk in the thermal scanner area at Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Tangerang near Jakarta on Jan. 30, following the implementation of health screening for arriving passengers, after India confirmed two cases of the deadly Nipah virus.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 6, 2026
Low risk of Nipah virus outbreak in Japan, health ministry says
No case has been reported in the country so far.
A Vietnamese worker picks tomatoes at a farm in Asahi, Chiba Prefecture, in 2018. Vietnamese comprised the largest percentage of foreign workers in Japan in 2025.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2026
Foreign workers in Japan reach a record 2.57 million in 2025
The total was up 11.7% from a year earlier and comes amid an acute labor shortage in the rapidly aging country.
Government data shows that 1,074 students died last year, including 532 elementary, junior high and high school students — the highest number since 1980.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2026
Japan’s suicide death toll drops to record low
The overall number fell by 1,223 from the previous year’s confirmed total, marking a third consecutive annual decline.
Two new drug ingredients found in cough and allergy medicines will be added to a list of over-the-counter drug ingredients that may be abused.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 25, 2026
Japan to designate eight ingredients for list of drugs with abuse risk
These ingredients will be subject to sales restrictions under the revised pharmaceutical and medical device law, which takes effect in May.
Prostate cancer logged the highest five-year survival rate by cancer type, according to a health ministry survey based on data from Japan's national registry.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2026
Five-year cancer survival rates released using national registry data
According to the data on some 990,000 people diagnosed with cancer in 2016 across the country, prostate cancer logged the highest net survival rate.
A building housing the welfare ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2025
Cases of disability abuse hit record high in fiscal 2024, ministry data shows
Physical abuse, including assault, was the most common type, followed by psychological abuse such as verbal harassment.
A hospital in Osaka Prefecture in 2021. The government plans to raise the copayments for all people undergoing expensive care to reflect the rising medical costs.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 16, 2025
Health ministry panel agrees to raise medical fee caps, but with refined approach
Income threshold categories determining patient burdens for high-cost medical care will be fine-tuned to ensure that those who earn more pay more.
The health ministry plans to lower official drug prices to reduce financial burdens on the public, as market prices often fall below official prices due to competition.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2025
Japan to lower official drug prices in fiscal 2026
The government is expected to lower the state-set prices of drugs after a health ministry survey found that market prices are lower than the official prices.
Nearly 1 in 5 of those who said they smoke also said they wanted to quit, a health ministry survey has found.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 3, 2025
Japan sees drop in regular smokers, national health survey finds
Nearly 1 in 5 of those who said in the health ministry’s annual survey that they smoke also said they wanted to quit.
To prevent the spread of the flu, measures such as wearing a mask are recommended.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 2, 2025
Japan’s flu season comes early as new variant spreads
The risk of developing severe symptoms from “Subclade K” is no higher than other strains, but its continued spread is expected.
A symposium promoting the passing on of memories of the war organized by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, on Aug. 3 in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, attended by actor Fumiya Takahashi (second from right) and others.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Dec 2, 2025
Japan works to preserve and pass on wartime memories as witnesses age
In August, for the first time, over half of participants at the Japan’s national memorial service for those who died in World War II were born after it ended.
Currently, OTC-like drugs prescribed by doctors are covered by insurance, with patients paying only 10% to 30% of the drugs’ prices out of their pockets.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2025
Health insurance likely to be kept applied to OTC-like drugs
The government and ruling coalition plan to draw up by year-end a framework for revising the insurance application to OTC-like prescription drugs.
A building housing the health ministry in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2025
Profit margin at minus 7.3% for Japan general hospitals
The figure improved by 0.2 percentage point from the previous year, a health ministry survey showed Wednesday.
A building housing the welfare ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2025
Panel OKs smaller cuts to welfare benefits
The government plans to finalize the benefit amounts by the end of this month based on the welfare ministry panel’s proposal.
The health ministry on Friday said that the weekly average of new influenza cases per monitored medical institution hit 14.90, surpassing the alert level of 10.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 7, 2025
Flu cases in Japan exceed alert level, health ministry says
The alert level of 10 cases per regularly monitored medical institution nationwide indicates a possible large-scale outbreak within four weeks.
Real cash earnings fell 1.4% in September, marking the ninth consecutive monthly decline in line with analyst forecasts.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 6, 2025
Japan’s wage growth stays firm, keeping rate hike bets alive
Nominal wages rose 1.9% from a year earlier, accelerating from August, the labor ministry reported Thursday, coming in line with economist expectations.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry was the biggest taxpayer money waster within the government in fiscal 2024, misspending some ¥22.058 billion in total, a report has found.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2025
¥54 billion of Japanese tax money wasted in fiscal 2024
Of the total cases, 271, involving over ¥8.6 billion, were related to law violations or improper budget execution.
Job hunting and recruitment both may have become less active in September ahead of minimum wage hikes beginning in October.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2025
Japan’s September job availability ratio stays unchanged
Job hunting and recruitment may have become less active in September ahead of minimum wage hikes in October, and some companies may have curbed hiring due to earnings drops.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Thailand gets serious about chasing high-spending tourists
Chinese tourists at Wat Arun Ratchawararam Rathawaramahawihan in Bangkok
Murakami says his novels are ‘different’ from AI literature
Haruki Murakami's first book in three years hit shelves in Japan on Friday.
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
X Games returns to Chiba with new team format
Skateboarder Sora Shirai practices at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Friday afternoon. X Games Chiba begins on Saturday.
NU Festival tests Takanawa Gateway City complex’s culture cred
Veteran improvisers Kazuo Imai and Atsuhiro Ito brought some unruly energy to NU Festival, a three-day multimedia event held at the Takanawa Gateway City complex.  
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.

Podcast

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

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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