Japan’s total fertility rate fell to a record low of 1.20 in 2023 from 1.26 in 2022, down for the eighth straight year, the health ministry said Wednesday. In Tokyo, the total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, stood at 0.99, falling below 1 for the first time in the country.
Japan’s parliament enacted on Wednesday an amended law stipulating government assistance for young people who provide daily care for family members. The revised law to promote support for child-nurturing and youth development was approved by a majority vote of the ruling bloc at a plenary meeting of the House of Councillors, the upper parliamentary chamber.
Japan’s parliament enacted on Wednesday an amended law stipulating government assistance for young people who provide daily care for family members. The revised law to promote support for child-nurturing and youth development was approved by a majority vote of the ruling bloc at a plenary meeting of the House of Councillors, the upper parliamentary chamber.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday conducted an on-site inspection of medical equipment maker Sysmex Corp. in the western Japan city of Kobe on suspicion of illegal tie-in sales of hemostasis analyzers and test reagents. The company allegedly urged hospitals and other customers to use only its test reagents whey they purchased its hemostasis analyzers, while suggesting that it would not sell the products if the customers refused to use the reagents.
Technical and financial problems have been identified in the year since Japan’s first transportation service using so-called Level 4 autonomous driving began in the town of Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture.
Amid the country’s declining population, Level 4 autonomous driving, or fully automated driving under certain conditions, is viewed as a promising means of transport. The service in the central Japan town, however, has shown hurdles that must be cleared.
On May 31st, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced the estimated number of people with intellectual disabilities living at home or elsewhere nationwide as of December 2022, is reaching 1.14 million.
This is an increase of 178,000 from the previous survey in 2004 and the largest number ever. The Ministry analyzes that “one of the factors may be the increase in the acquisition of the Rehabilitation Certificate, mainly for infants and children.
The film, “Chinmoku no 50-Nen” (50 years of silence), depicts the lives of Takaji Kobayashi, 92, a hearing-impaired man from Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, and his wife. The film uses interviews and dramatic reenactments to depict the suffering of people who were deprived of the right to bear and raise children.
According to the police, at around 2:00 p.m. on the 27th of this month, a 69-year-old man with intellectual disabilities who was staying at the Andante Kashima facility for the disabled in Yodogawa Ward, Osaka, lost consciousness while undergoing treatment for a cavity. The man was taken to the hospital, but died about an hour later.
Police investigation revealed that the cause of death was acute respiratory failure due to pressure on the chest and abdomen.
A 69-year-old male resident of a facility for the disabled in Yodogawa Ward, Osaka, lost consciousness while undergoing treatment for a cavity and later died.
He is said to have suffered acute respiratory failure due to pressure on the chest and other areas. At the time, five staff members at the facility were holding the man down to prevent him from moving during treatment, and the police are currently investigating the details.
Japan’s defunct Eugenic Protection Law, which allowed for the forced sterilization of people with disabilities, is at the heart of a recently completed film.
The film, “Chinmoku no 50-Nen” (50 years of silence), depicts the lives of Takaji Kobayashi, 92, a hearing-impaired man from Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, and his wife. The film uses interviews and dramatic reenactments to depict the suffering of people who were deprived of the right to bear and raise children.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission on Thursday issued cease-and-desist orders to JTB Corp. and three other travel agencies in a bid-rigging case over a municipal project to transport COVID-19 patients.
It is the first time the antitrust watchdog has issued such an order over a project related to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the watchdog and other sources, the project to transport COVID-19 patients from their homes to accommodation facilities was ordered by the northeastern city of Aomori. The five companies colluded to decide in advance which of them would win five related tenders between April 2022 and March 2023, while agreeing that the winner would outsource some operations to the others.
Barrier Free Japan