The risk of hantavirus spreading in Japan through person-to-person transmission is low, even if infected passengers from a cruise ship linked to a recent outbreak enter the country, the health ministry said Wednesday. The ministry called on the public to remain calm, after three people died in a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. A Japanese national is among passengers on the ship.
Japan’s Finance Ministry on Tuesday called for a road map to raising out-of-pocket medical payments by patients aged 70 or older to reduce the health insurance premium burden on the working generation. The road map to consolidating their payment rates eventually to a uniform 30 pct should be created, the ministry said at a meeting of a subcommittee of the Fiscal System Council, which advises the finance minister.
Japan’s health minister Kenichiro Ueno said Friday he will call for nationwide vaccination to prevent measles. According to the health chief, 299 measles cases were reported between Jan. 1 and April 12, already exceeding the total figure for 2025. Cluster infections were observed at schools and others.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Thursday that the government will release 50 million medical gloves from its stockpile to medical institutions starting next month. The move came after some medical institutions expressed concerns about supplies of medical products amid the Middle East crisis.
Novel Alzheimer’s therapies have been given to 19 pct of outpatients who applied for the medications, according to a recent survey at a Tokyo hospital. The lecanemab and donanemab therapies for early-stage Alzheimer’s patients are now clinically available under Japan’s national health insurance scheme, which curbs a sharp rise in out-of-pocket medical expenses. Despite the relatively low-cost availability, however, the drugs have eventually been administered to only 87 out of 456 applicants, the survey by a study group at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology showed.
Japanese health minister Kenichiro Ueno on Friday 3rd April urged the public to exercise caution as measles cases are increasing. The number of people infected with the disease in Japan this year had reached 152 as of March 22, the highest total for the same period since 2020.
Japanese health minister Kenichiro Ueno on Friday urged the public to exercise caution as measles cases are increasing. The number of people infected with the disease in Japan this year had reached 152 as of March 22, the highest total for the same period since 2020.
A nonprofit organization in the western Japan prefecture of Osaka has launched a crowdfunding campaign to continue its “doctor jet” service, which transports critically ill patients to medical facilities by air. Japan Critical Care Jet Network (JCCN), based in the city of Suita in Osaka, began the campaign on Monday to maintain the service for severely ill pediatric patients, with a goal of raising 200 million yen. The project has relied on donations, but funds have become depleted, making it difficult to continue operations without additional support. The doctor jet is an aircraft staffed with doctors and nurses that provides intensive care, including artificial respiration, while transporting patients to medical institutions, including those equipped with pediatric intensive care units.
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.
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.
Barrier Free Japan