Category: Medical

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 6, 2025 Number of comments0
Health Japan Medical

Kyoto University Team Develops Pain Reliever Comparable to Morphine

 According to the team, the newly developed drug, Adriana, is a groundbreaking painkiller, which works on a completely different mechanism to morphine and other existing synthetic opioids. The drug has the potential to revolutionize pain control in the medical field, the team said. The team also expects that the drug will help resolve the so-called opioid epidemic, in which a large number of deaths occur mainly due to overdoses of opioids.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 17, 2025 Number of comments0
Crime Health Japan Medical

Japan Government Says Its Taking Strict Fentanyl Countermeasures

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Tuesday that Japan is taking thorough measures against fentanyl, noting that Japanese customs have not uncovered any attempts to smuggle the synthetic opioid through the country in the past six years. Health minister Takamaro Fukuoka and Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato also mentioned fentanyl in separate press conferences on the day. The ministers’ remarks followed media reports that a Chinese organization is suspected of being involved in fentanyl-related exports from Japan to the United States.



by Michael Gillan Peckitt July 15, 2025 Number of comments0
Children Health Japan Medical

‘Slapped cheek syndrome’, or Fifth Disease in Japan Hits 26 Year High

The number of patients with fifth disease, or slapped cheek syndrome, in Japan hit the highest level in some 26 years in the week that ended June 22, according to data compiled by the Japan Institute for Health Security.The number of fifth disease patients reported by some 2,000 medical institutions nationwide stood at 2.53 per institution in the week, the highest since the current counting method was adopted in 1999. In the following week through June 29, the figure came to 2.13, the third highest.Japan’s health ministry is urging pregnant women to consult medical institutions if they experience symptoms, as infections can lead to miscarriages.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 11, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Hospitals Human Rights Immigration Japan Medical

Japan to Tighten Immigration Rules Over Unpaid Medical and Insurance Bills

The Japanese government plans to introduce a “rigorous screening” system by June 2027 that will deny visa renewals to mid- and long-term foreign residents who have failed to pay medical expenses, taxes, or social insurance premiums. The move comes as the Cabinet prepares to approve policies aimed at creating “an orderly and harmonious society with foreign nationals.” A 2024 health ministry survey found that 65.3% of medical institutions accepting foreign patients had unpaid bills, with foreign nationals accounting for 29.3% of debtors but just 1.4% of the total amount owed. Despite these concerns, officials acknowledge there is no nationwide data on insurance payment compliance by foreign residents.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 9, 2025 Number of comments0
Hospitals Japan Medical Podcast

Japan to Deny Entry of Foreigners with Unpaid Medical Bills [Podcast Episode]

The Japanese government said Friday 6th June that it will deny entry of foreign tourists who have failed to pay medical expenses in the country in the past. The government also said that medium- and long-term foreign residents who have failed to pay national health insurance or pension premiums in Japan will not be allowed to renew their period of stay or change their status of residence.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 6, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Health Hospitals Japan Medical

Japan to Deny Entry of Foreigners with Unpaid Medical Bills

The Japanese government said Friday that it will deny entry of foreign tourists who have failed to pay medical expenses in the country in the past. The government also said that medium- and long-term foreign residents who have failed to pay national health insurance or pension premiums in Japan will not be allowed to renew their period of stay or change their status of residence.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 5, 2025 Number of comments0
Alzheimer’s iPS Japan Medical

Japan Starts Final-Stage Trial for iPS Drug for Alzheimer’s

A Japanese team said on Tuesday 3rd June that it has started a final-stage clinical trial to administer to patients with familial Alzheimer’s disease a drug discovered through induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells. This is the first final-stage trial conducted in the field of iPS drug discovery, which uses iPS cells to discover new efficacies of new and existing drugs, according to the team. The team includes members of Kyoto University’s Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, or CiRA, and Towa Pharmaceutical Co., which makes and sells generic drugs.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 30, 2025 Number of comments0
Cancer Disability Japan Medical

Kyoto University Team Develops Cancer Prediction Method Using Inside of Cheek

A team of Kyoto University and other researchers has developed a method of predicting with high accuracy the risk of developing esophageal cancer by analyzing cells collected from inside a person’s cheeks.The team’s findings were published in an online international medical journal in April. Its study covered 222 people aged 40-94, all with a history of smoking and drinking habits who were either esophageal cancer patients or did not have such cancer.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 15, 2025 Number of comments0
Health Japan Medical

OTC Drugs to Be Available at Convenience Stores in Japan

Japan’s parliament on Wednesday enacted a bill that will allow people to pick up over-the-counter drugs at convenience stores and other outlets without pharmacists. The bill to revise the pharmaceuticals and medical devices law was approved at a plenary meeting of the House of Councilors, the upper chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, following its passage through the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, last month. The revised law will require consumers to listen to explanations from pharmacists online before purchases. It will take effect by around spring 2027. The government expects the new system to be used also in areas with few pharmacies, such as remote islands and mountainous areas.