Category: Health

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.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 21, 2025 Number of comments0
Crime Health Japan Prison

Japan Government Ordered to Pay Damages for Verbal Abuse of Inmate

A Japanese court on Monday ordered the government to pay some 300,000 yen in damages over verbal abuse and other illegal acts by prison guards against an inmate in Aichi Prefecture. Presiding Judge Akira Chino denied the causal relationship between his death and medical treatment provided by Nagoya Prison in the Aichi city of Miyoshi. he man was sent to a hospital for a possible heart attack on Feb. 22, 2022, when he was serving his sentence for an assault. He died of multiple organ failure on March 1 that year at the age of 71 after coming back to the prison. The ruling by Tokyo District Court came after the bereaved family of the inmate sued the government for some 40 million yen, accusing it of failing to offer proper medical treatment to him.


by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 20, 2025 Number of comments0
Health Japan Podcast

Unicharm to Test Sanitary Pad Dispensers in Tokyo’s Shibuya [Podcast Episode]

Unicharm Corp. announced on Wednesday 15th October it will begin a trial installation of free sanitary pad dispensers at 22 public facilities in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, in partnership with the local government. Running until Dec. 26, the initiative aims to support individuals who cannot afford menstrual products. While Unicharm provides the dispensers, Shibuya Ward will supply the sanitary napkins. The company, which has already introduced the dispensers in schools and businesses, expressed hopes of expanding the program through further cooperation with local governments.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 19, 2025 1
Health Japan

Unicharm to Test Sanitary Pad Dispensers in Tokyo’s Shibuya

Unicharm Corp. announced on Wednesday 15th October it will begin a trial installation of free sanitary pad dispensers at 22 public facilities in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, in partnership with the local government. Running until Dec. 26, the initiative aims to support individuals who cannot afford menstrual products. While Unicharm provides the dispensers, Shibuya Ward will supply the sanitary napkins. The company, which has already introduced the dispensers in schools and businesses, expressed hopes of expanding the program through further cooperation with local governments.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 18, 2025 Number of comments0
Employment Health Japan

Fatigue causing increase in ‘workplace accidents due to falls’ incidents in Japan

Fatigue is emerging as a key factor behind the rise in workplace accidents caused by falls, according to Hideki Katano, author of Rest Science and Fatigue Science, and head of the Japan Recovery Association. In an interview reported by Toyo Keizai on Friday, October 17, Katano warned that widespread fatigue is not only a health concern but also a growing safety risk. The association’s latest 2025 survey found that 82% of working-age Japanese feel tired—an all-time high—translating to over 71 million people, up 300,000 from the previous year. With fatigue-related economic losses estimated at 15 trillion yen annually and the number of “frequently tired” individuals continuing to climb, Katano emphasizes the urgent need for nationwide fatigue management and prevention efforts.