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June 30, 2026
 

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ELDERLY

A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jun 29, 2026
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
The need to change pads and adult diapers has become a daily concern for some men as not only older people, but also some cancer patients can experience incontinence.
Toshiko Nakasoko, 90, leaves a nursing care facility on Hateruma Island in Taketomi, Okinawa Prefecture, in April. If a contingency over Taiwan occurs, "I’ll just die on the island,” she said.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 29, 2026
‘I’ll just die on the island’: Some in Okinawa to resist evacuation
For many older people on Okinawa’s remote islands, Taiwan contingency plans do not necessarily guarantee their safety, while some are scarred by memories of World War II.
The National Police Agency said the eyes of the local community are essential in finding people with dementia who have gone missing.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 25, 2026
Reports of missing dementia sufferers in Japan fell in 2025 but remain high
Among those who were found, 139 were using location-tracking devices such as GPS or loss prevention tags for safety purposes.
The driving skills test for older drivers was introduced in 2022 with the aim of preventing accidents by assessing the decline in their physical functions.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2026
Japan to review elderly driving test after higher accident rate
The rate of accidents caused by drivers who took the test was 2.8 times the level recorded for those who were not subject to it, according to a study released Thursday.
Yoichi Miura (third from left) now divides his time between his import business and guiding international visitors across Japan.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 23, 2026
Stepping up, not aside: Japan’s retirement-age tour guides
The older guides — some driven by financial need, others by civic goodwill — reflect a changing concept of what later life can look like in graying Japan.
Daniel Northover, 53, who moved from Britain to Spain to care for his mother after her husband's death, takes his mother Carole Bentley, 80, for a stroll in her wheelchair along a street in the village of Turre, Almeria, Spain, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 22, 2026
In Spain, elderly U.K. expats struggle for care post-Brexit
Spain’s resident British population — the largest in the European Union at around 266,000, according to official statistics — is aging fast.
In Tokyo and other major Japanese cities, <i>aruki-sumaho</i> — walking while using a smartphone — has become a persistent safety concern as commuters navigate crowded stations and sidewalks while focused on their devices.
JAPAN / Society / First person
Jun 21, 2026
Distracted walkers in Japan are a real safety risk. My mother knows firsthand.
Despite years of awareness campaigns, aruki-sumaho — walking while using a smartphone — remains widespread and difficult to stop.
The House of Councilors plenary session enacted a bill Wednesday to revise the Civil Code to overhaul the country&#039;s adult guardianship system for certain people such as those with dementia.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 17, 2026
Japan enacts bill overhauling guardianship system
The revision will allow people to opt out of support under the adult guardianship system based on their needs.
A record 101,045 consultation requests on social media-related issues were made to consumer affairs centers in Japan last year, nearly double the level in 2021.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 12, 2026
In a first, consumer consultations in Japan about social media top 100,000
Those in their 50s and older accounted for more than half of the total social media-related consultations to consumer affairs centers.
Many older adults in Japan want to continue working as a way to earn money and stay healthy.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2026
Nearly 40% of older adults in Japan want to keep working
The main motivation cited was the need to earn an income, followed by the notion that working helps maintain health and slow down aging.
Bang Chun-ja, a 78-year-old South Korean woman living alone, holding Hyodol, an artificial intelligence-powered healthcare doll designed for the elderly, during an interview at her home in Yongin in April.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jun 11, 2026
In aging South Korea, AI dolls are caring for the elderly
Authorities are providing AI care devices to seniors living alone, including in districts of Seoul and in Yongin, south of the capital.
The rise of silver content creators is helping redefine what we associate with aging, and they are a potent spending force due to their substantial net worth.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2026
Your mum and dad are influencers now, too
As populations age and people delay retirement, these third-age influencers are restoring some relevance and legitimacy to age groups sidelined in many professions.
Staff and older adults of an adult daycare facility in Tokyo&#039;s Katsushika Ward enjoy a livestream of singer Ryo Nakada, known for his repertoire of 550 golden oldies of the Showa Era (1926-1989), on April 8.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 10, 2026
Oshikatsu activities to support favorite idols spread to older generations
Experts say such activities help older people find purpose in life, adding that the popularity is likely to grow even more with the spread of livestreaming.
Thailand&#039;s first municipally operated elderly care center in Pathum Thani on April 8
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 3, 2026
Thailand references Japan in boosting its community-based elderly care
In some cases drawing on Japanese experience, local governments and communities in Thailand are stepping up work to support older residents through integrated care initiatives.
Community programs and tracking systems are expanding across Japan as local governments search for ways to prevent dementia-related disappearances.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
May 25, 2026
He told his wife he was ‘coming home.’ Then he disappeared.
One family’s search reveals Japan’s growing crisis of dementia-related disappearances.
Medical brain scans under analysis. Associate professor Ken-ichiro Kuwako at Shimane University’s School of Medicine, whose team has identified a set of proteins in mouse nerve cells that declines with age, hopes the research may ultimately offer potential for intervention in physiological aging of the human brain.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 22, 2026
Scientists discover molecular process of normal brain aging
The findings could one day help lead to therapies to preserve brain function.
A stagnating labor force driven by aging and reduced immigration is emerging as a bigger long-term threat to U.S. economic growth than short-term labor market conditions.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2026
America’s demographic stagnation will make it poorer
The U.S. labor force is not expanding at all, with the adult population growing at an annualized rate of just 0.4% in the first quarter.
Shota Sometani plays a physician with an unsettling approach to elder care in “The A-Care: Disusebody.”
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2026
Japan’s aging anxieties fuel the disturbing logic of ‘The A-Care: Disusebody’
Amputation as eldercare makes for an unnerving premise, but Koki Yoshida’s bleak drama is most effective in its quiet plausibility.
Shorebirds gather in dense flocks at Higashiyoka Higata (tidal flats), pushed together by the rising tide.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Perspectives
May 4, 2026
At 70, chasing birds across a changing Japan
From subtropical islands to northern coasts, a quest for rare sightings becomes a meditation on memory, effort and environmental change.
Tomoya Saito
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 3, 2026
Aged people still cautioned against COVID-19 during Golden Week
The Japan Institute for Health Security continues to monitor COVID-19 cases at about 3,000 medical institutions nationwide.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay&#039;s Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team&#039;s loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia&#039;s Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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