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June 30, 2026
 

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HEALTH

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's factory in the city of Osaka. The firm had been embroiled in a scandal involving its supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 5, 2026
Researchers uncover mechanism behind beni kōji health problems
Though it had been known that puberulic acid was behind the high-profile health scare in 2024 involving supplements, it was unclear how the substance damaged kidneys.
Unicharm offers sanitary napkin dispensers for free to companies and schools to encourage them to stock menstrual pads in restrooms.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 4, 2026
More workplaces in Japan stocking menstrual pads
Addressing women’s health issues is becoming increasingly important for companies as the number of women in the workforce increases.
Japan’s panel of experts has cleared Daiichi Sankyo’s vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella for ministerial approval. If approved, it will become the country’s only available MMR vaccine, primarily intended for children.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 3, 2026
Japan expert panel OKs Daiichi Sankyo’s MMR vaccine
If approved by the minister, the vaccine, primarily for children, will be the sole MMR vaccine available in Japan.
Pins showing the new inverted food pyramid and reading "I'm a MAHA Mom" displayed during an "Eat Real Food" rally at Brazos Hall in Austin, Texas, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 28, 2026
Trump’s pesticide and vaccine moves spur MAHA backlash ahead of midterms
An aggressive White House push on health policies risks stalling out as key parts of the “Make America Healthy Again” coalition grow frustrated.
A Japanese research team has developed miniaturized testicular tissues called testicular organoids from mouse embryonic stem cells, in a world first.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 27, 2026
Japanese researchers create mouse testicular organoids in vitro
Two of the researchers were also the first to create ovarian organoids from mouse embryonic stem cells, in 2021.
A team headed by Takashi Tsuji, a visiting senior researcher at Riken and chairperson of OrganTech, has identified a previously unknown “third cell” essential for fully regenerating hair follicles, on Feb. 10 in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 26, 2026
Japan-led cell discovery hints at potential new treatments for hair loss
Researchers identified a “third cell” essential for fully regenerating hair follicles, and successfully re-created the complete hair-growth cycle in mice.
Research published in the journal Science Immunology shows that women actually do experience exacerbated chronic pain compared with men.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 21, 2026
New study probes why chronic pain lasts longer in women
Research published in the journal Science Immunology shows that women actually do experience exacerbated chronic pain compared to men.
An iPS cell-derived heart muscle sheet developed by Cuorips
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Feb 20, 2026
iPS cell-based products win conditional approval from health ministry panel
The endorsement was based on small-scale clinical studies that confirmed only their safety and “presumed” their efficacy.
Sleep quality and irregular sleep schedules were found to be strongly associated with declines in labor productivity, a research group says.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 17, 2026
Study finds ¥1 trillion annual economic loss from ‘social jet lag’ sleep problem
The mismatch between sleep patterns on weekdays and holidays is a large factor, according to a recent study.
A reduced sense of satisfaction after drinking could lead to excessive alcohol consumption, researchers have found.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 16, 2026
Weakened satisfaction likely to drive excessive drinking, study finds
A weakening of a mechanism that produces a sense of satisfaction after drinking could lead to excessive alcohol consumption, a team of Japanese and other researchers has found.
Cavity rates among children in Japan have hit records lows, a government survey has shown.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 16, 2026
Cavity rates for children hit record lows in Japan
“Toothbrushing programs at schools and greater health awareness at home could be behind the results,” an education ministry official said.
The biennial comprehensive fee review is a major policy tool for the government, showing the direction of the nation’s health care as the population ages and medical needs surge and diversify.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 13, 2026
Japan health panel adopts medical fee changes to raise wages and cope with inflation
By tweaking fees here and there, the government seeks to keep health care costs relatively low while meeting new medical needs.
The launch event for Ant Group's AI health care app AQ in Shanghai in June 2025
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 11, 2026
Jack Ma-backed Ant bets on AI health care in $69 billion sector race
In November, Ant elevated its health unit to the same level as operations including Alipay and its lending businesses, showing how central it has become to the company’s strategy.
An oral drug for chronic kidney disease and heart failure has also been found effective in treating premature ovarian insufficiency, according to a study by a team including researchers from Juntendo University in Japan and the University of Hong Kong.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 10, 2026
Kidney drug found to be effective for infertility treatment
The team expects the discovery to lead to a new infertility therapy.
Doctors look at an analysis of cellular data as part of their research into using artificial intelligence to repurpose existing drugs to fight rare diseases, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in February 2025. There is concern some apps that claim to offer medical guidance may not have an adequate data set to accurately asses information their users submit.
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 10, 2026
Doctors have questions as more AI-powered apps claim to offer medical guidance
A growing number of mobile apps that are not supposed to offer diagnoses are posing special challenges in medicine as patients turn to them for advice.
A recent fast-moving measles outbreak in South Carolina highlights how declining vaccination rates, permissive state laws and weakened federal vaccine oversight under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are creating larger, harder-to-control outbreaks across the U.S.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2026
South Carolina’s measles milestone is everyone’s problem
It’s the latest public health record to be broken as vaccine hesitancy and increasingly permissive state laws create more and larger pockets of disease vulnerability in the U.S.
Passengers walk in the thermal scanner area at Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Tangerang near Jakarta on Jan. 30, following the implementation of health screening for arriving passengers, after India confirmed two cases of the deadly Nipah virus.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 6, 2026
Low risk of Nipah virus outbreak in Japan, health ministry says
No case has been reported in the country so far.
People with higher blood sugar levels are more likely to have tooth decay and dental plaque, a study by Japanese researchers has shown.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 2, 2026
High blood sugar raises risk of tooth decay, study says
Researchers at the University of Osaka surveyed around 60 diabetic and nondiabetic people to examine how blood sugar affects oral health.
From Monday, NorLevo, an emergency contraceptive pill marketed by Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare, can be purchased over the counter at approximately 5,400 pharmacies and drugstores nationwide.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 2, 2026
Morning-after pill becomes available over the counter, in a first for Japan
Under the new rules, only the person who will take the medication may buy it, and it must be taken in the presence of a pharmacist after receiving an explanation.
Avanti Mehta, 32, India's youngest water sommelier, talks about different brands of packaged water at a tasting event.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 31, 2026
India’s wealthy embrace a new luxury symbol: water
Premium water is a $400 million business ‍in the ⁠world’s most populous nation and is growing bigger alongside a spreading ‍wellness craze.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team'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'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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