Category: Health

by Michael Gillan Peckitt March 23, 2026 Number of comments0
Gender Health Japan Podcast

Japan’s new guidelines aim to reduce long lines of women at public toilets [Podcast Episode]

Japan’s transport ministry has come up with draft guidelines aimed at reducing long waiting lines at women’s toilets at stations and commercial facilities. At a meeting of experts and businesspeople on Friday 13th March, the ministry presented its first draft guidelines for public restrooms in such places. The guidelines say it is important for both men and women to be able to use restrooms comfortably, and that the waiting times for each must be equal. They also say that the number of toilets for women needs to be higher than those for men at facilities where the number of male and female toilet users are almost the same.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt March 22, 2026 1
Gender Health Japan

Japan’s new guidelines aim to reduce long lines of women at public toilets

Japan’s transport ministry has come up with draft guidelines aimed at reducing long waiting lines at women’s toilets at stations and commercial facilities. At a meeting of experts and businesspeople on Friday 13th March, the ministry presented its first draft guidelines for public restrooms in such places. The guidelines say it is important for both men and women to be able to use restrooms comfortably, and that the waiting times for each must be equal. They also say that the number of toilets for women needs to be higher than those for men at facilities where the number of male and female toilet users are almost the same.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt March 10, 2026 1
Disasters Earthquake Health Hospitals Japan Medical

15 Years On: Medical Care Key to Evacuees’ Return to Fukushima

Many evacuees from Fukushima Prefecture cite anxiety about a lack of medical services as a reason for their hesitation to return to their hometowns devastated by a severe nuclear accident following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.    More than half of the population who lived in Futaba just before the triple disaster are still living outside their hometowns, although evacuation orders have been lifted in many places in the county. In Fukushima, the number of medical institutions has plunged since the disaster. Many of the 132 medical facilities that had operated in the prefecture have suspended operations, leaving only 47 currently in service.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt February 15, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Health Japan Medical Podcast Welfare

Japan Approves Muscular Dystrophy Drug Price of 304 Million Yen [Podcast Episode]

An advisory panel to Japan’s health minister decided Friday to allow public health insurance coverage for a gene therapy for muscular dystrophy beginning Feb. 20 and set the drug’s official price at about 304.97 million yen. Elevidys, a one-time treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy in ambulatory patients aged 3-7, will become the country’s most expensive drug.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt February 14, 2026 1
Disability Genetics Health Japan Medical

Japan Approves Muscular Dystrophy Drug Price of 300 M. Yen

An advisory panel to Japan’s health minister decided Friday to allow public health insurance coverage for a gene therapy for muscular dystrophy beginning Feb. 20 and set the drug’s official price at about 304.97 million yen. 
   Elevidys, a one-time treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy in ambulatory patients aged 3-7, will become the country’s most expensive drug.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt February 14, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Health Japan Podcast Welfare

Japan’s ‘first visit date’ rule shows gaps in disability pension system [Podcast Episode]

A Tokyo man in his 50s who was forced to quit his IT job after developing Parkinson’s disease faced difficulties obtaining Japan’s disability pension due to the system’s requirement to prove the date of first medical consultation, highlighting structural hurdles for applicants. Kenichi Sato (pseudonym), 54, was told he needed to verify an initial clinic visit from about 20 years ago, but records had been discarded under the legal five-year retention rule for medical charts.

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.