Category: Health

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 25, 2026 Number of comments0
Health Japan

Japan to Designate 8 Ingredients for List of Drugs with Abuse Risk

Japan’s health ministry will designate eight drug ingredients as having abuse potential under law in response to rising concerns about the overdose of over-the-counter drugs among young people, it has been learned. The ministry will publicly notify the decision, made by its subcommittee on Friday, in mid-February. Currently, six ingredients commonly found in cold or cough medicines are designated as drugs that may be abused under ministerial ordinances and other rules. The new designation will add dextromethorphan, an antitussive ingredient, and diphenhydramine, an antihistamine, bringing the total number of designated substances to eight.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 22, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Health Japan Mental Health

Japan Health Ministry to Review Mental Disorder Criteria Under ICD-11

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare will hold a meeting on Thursday, Jan. 29, to examine disease names covered by certification criteria for mental disorders following the domestic application of the ICD-11 international disease classification system. The study group, convened under the supervision of the ministry’s Director-General for Policy Planning in charge of industrial accidents and wages, is composed of experts with specialized knowledge in medicine and related fields. Members of the public wishing to observe the meeting must apply in advance in accordance with the ministry’s observer guidelines.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 22, 2026 Number of comments0
Health Japan Politics Reiwa Shinsengumi Reiwa Shinsengumi

Reiwa Shinsengumi Chief Yamamoto Resigns from Upper House Due to Health Problems

Taro Yamamoto, leader of Japanese opposition party Reiwa Shinsengumi, on Wednesday resigned from the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, due to health problems.
   “I’m one step away from multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood. If I don’t live by the main theme of not letting it progress, I could lose my life,” Yamamoto said in a video posted on the party’s official YouTube channel.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 22, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Health Hospitals Japan Medical

Japan Ruling Parties Agree to Curb Medical Costs by 188 B. Yen

Japan’s ruling parties agreed Friday to seek to reduce the country’s medical costs by 188 billion yen per year, by revising the eligibility of certain drugs for insurance coverage. The agreement was struck between the policy chiefs of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai). The government plans to hammer out the details of the revised medical insurance system for pharmaceuticals based on the two parties’ agreement for implementation in the fiscal year beginning next April.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 9, 2025 Number of comments0
Health Japan Medical

Nobel Winner Sakaguchi Stresses Importance of Medical Science

Shimon Sakaguchi, distinguished honorary professor at the University of Osaka, who won this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, underscored the significance of medical science at a press conference at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden on Saturday. 
   With his Nobel prize win, Sakaguchi said at a press conference, “I hope…our society will recognize the importance of medical science and medical research.” Sakaguchi attended the press conference with his two co-winners, ahead of the award ceremony to be held on Wednesday local time.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt November 20, 2025 Number of comments0
Crime Disability Health Hospitals Japan

University of Tokyo Hospital Doctor Arrested for Alleged Bribery

A 53-year-old doctor at the University of Tokyo Hospital was arrested Wednesday for allegedly taking about 700,000 yen in bribes from a medical equipment maker official in return for using the firm’s devices on a priority basis. Arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department of Tokyo was Takehiro Matsubara, a doctor at the hospital’s Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt November 4, 2025 Number of comments0
Foreign Residents Health Immigration Japan

Japan to Counter Foreigners Refusing to Pay Health Insurance Premiums

Japan’s health ministry is planning to deny in principle the renewal or change of residential status for foreign citizens who refuse to pay national health insurance premiums, it was learned Tuesday. “We’re preparing to start it in June 2027,” health minister Kenichiro Ueno told a press conference. Ueno also said that his ministry will strengthen measures against foreign residents who do not pay medical expenses. The ministry will collect nonpayment information from medical institutions and share it with the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.