Category: Hospitals

by Michael Gillan Peckitt March 17, 2026 Number of comments0
Hospitals Japan Medical Podcast

Patient Dies, Two Critical after Injections at Hospital near Tokyo [Podcast Episode]

A male leukemia patient between 10 and 19 died and two other young male patients are unconscious after spinal injections of anticancer drugs at a hospital in the city of Saitama, near Tokyo, hospital officials have said. The Saitama Prefectural Children’s Medical Center is consulting police in view of the possibility that the incident resulted from a criminal or accidental cause, the officials said Wednesday. Of the three patients, one died in February, while a boy under 10 and the other patient, who is between 10 and 19, are in critical condition.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt March 12, 2026 1
Children Crime Hospitals Japan Medical

Patient Dies, 2 Critical after Injections at Hospital near Tokyo

A male leukemia patient between 10 and 19 died and two other young male patients are unconscious after spinal injections of anticancer drugs at a hospital in the city of Saitama, near Tokyo, hospital officials have said. The Saitama Prefectural Children’s Medical Center is consulting police in view of the possibility that the incident resulted from a criminal or accidental cause, the officials said Wednesday. Of the three patients, one died in February, while a boy under 10 and the other patient, who is between 10 and 19, are in critical condition.

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 January 30, 2026 Number of comments0
Abuse Disability Hospitals Japan Mental Health Podcast

Japan Compiles Statistics on Abuse by Psychiatric Hospital Workers for First Time [Podcast Episode]

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced on January 19th that in fiscal 2024 there were 6,258 reports and notifications received by prefectures and designated cities concerning alleged abuse of persons with disabilities by staff at psychiatric hospitals. Of these, 260 cases were officially recognized as abuse. Under the revised Mental Health and Welfare Act enacted in 2022, reporting abuse of persons with disabilities by psychiatric hospital staff to prefectures and designated cities was made mandatory. This is the first time such data have been compiled. The ministry stated, “We have confirmed that the reporting system is being recognized. We will continue to closely monitor future trends.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt January 29, 2026 1
Abuse Disability Hospitals Japan Mental Health

Japan Compiles Statistics on Abuse by Psychiatric Hospital Workers for First Time

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced on January 19th that in fiscal 2024 there were 6,258 reports and notifications received by prefectures and designated cities concerning alleged abuse of persons with disabilities by staff at psychiatric hospitals. Of these, 260 cases were officially recognized as abuse.

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 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 September 25, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Health Heatstroke Hospitals Japan

Japan sets new record for heat-related ambulance transport incidents

Japan set a new record for ambulance transports due to heat-related illness this summer, the government said Wednesday, surpassing last year’s figure amid unprecedented heat waves and an unusually early end to the rainy season. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said in preliminary data that 99,573 people across Japan were taken to hospitals for heat-related illness between May 1 and Sunday.