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July 12, 2026
 

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HEALTH

A medical student poses questions to a surgical support software tool that uses artificial intelligence.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 10, 2026
Japan rushing to develop AI tools to aid surgeons
One surgery support software tool analyzes images of organs and blood vessels using generative AI and creates step-by-step procedures and points requiring caution.
A surgeon fills a syringe with Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, a tirzepatide injection drug used for treating type 2 diabetes and weight loss.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Jun 10, 2026
‘Thinness equals beauty’: Mounjaro misuse among women sparks health debate in Japan
The nation is one of the leanest in the world, making the misuse of the diabetes drug simply for weight loss that much more alarming.
As AI companies compete to build chatbots that resonate with consumers, health has emerged as one of the most closely watched business opportunities.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2026
Meta AI chief sees opportunity in models giving health advice
Meta's Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang said the company’s future artificial intelligence models will differentiate themselves from competitors through their consumer health capabilities.
Expectant mothers who were exposed to severe heat during their 19th week of pregnancy faced a 16% higher risk of preterm birth than those who were not, a study found.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 4, 2026
Extreme heat raises risk of preterm births, research shows
Findings indicate that women are particularly susceptible to the effects of heat between the 16th and 22nd weeks of pregnancy.
Health workers disinfect the entrance to a house before removing the body of a person whose suspected cause of death was Ebola, in Mongbwalu, Democratic Republic of Congo, last month.
WORLD
Jun 4, 2026
Ebola burial team attacked and 11 patients flee care in widening outbreak in Congo
The developments underscore the challenges facing responders as the outbreak takes on a growing international dimension while work to contain it inside the country remains fragile.
Asako Mito, head of the preconception care center at the National Center for Child Health and Development, said the number of high-risk pregnancies and childbirths due to such factors as advanced age, being underweight or obesity is increasing in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 3, 2026
Japan promotes preconception care amid falling birthrates
Preconception care, an initiative aimed at encouraging people to acquire knowledge on pregnancy and childbirth, has been part of government policy since 2018.
Thailand'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.
Critics argue the Trump administration is using foreign pollution as a justification to relax smog regulations, potentially worsening air quality and public health in U.S. cities.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2026
Blaming Asia and Mexico for U.S. pollution is absurd
President Donald Trump’s “Environmental Protection Agency,” a name growing more ironic by the day, is giving polluters some wiggle room.
Cigarette packages at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Tokyo in January 2024
JAPAN
May 31, 2026
Experts urge Japan to use pictorial warnings on tobacco packages
Many countries require cigarette packages to display images warning of health hazards related to smoking, such as a blackened lung.
If millions of Japanese people eat these sticky, pungent, fermented soybeans every day, surely they can't all be wrong?
LIFE / Food & Drink / The Recipe Box
May 31, 2026
A little bit of Japan’s infamously sticky soybeans goes a long way
Unlike some other fermented foods, making “nattō” requires the ability to release heat and condensation produced by the bacteria at the center of the process.
Health minister Kenichiro Ueno at an Upper House plenary session following the passage of a bill to reform the nation's health care insurance system
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 29, 2026
Japan passes bill to raise co-payments for prescription drugs similar to OTC counterparts
The health ministry plans to require individuals to bear additional costs for some 1,100 over-the-counter-like prescription drugs starting in March 2027.
Personal training, once mainly used by athletes, has become increasingly popular among people in Japan seeking to lose weight, improve fitness or maintain their health.
JAPAN / Society
May 28, 2026
Consumer safety watchdog seeks standards for personal trainers as accidents rise
Japan’s Consumer Safety Investigation Commission wants the industry to step up, saying use of personal training among general consumers has outpaced safety practices.
Salmonella bacteria
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 27, 2026
Climate change fueling growth of antibiotic-resistant salmonella
New research suggests warming temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns could accelerate the spread of hard-to-treat infections.
Health workers walk through the ruins of the Ebola treatment center, set on fire after the death of a patient with Ebola, at the Rwampara General Hospital in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Friday.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 23, 2026
Experimental treatments could help U.S. Ebola patient
There are no vaccines or known drugs specifically approved to treat the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A building housing the health ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 22, 2026
Kissei ordered to add warning over vasculitis drug after fatalities
Twenty patients who took Tavneos, a drug for blood vessel inflammation, later died after developing liver dysfunction.
Medical staff prepare to transport the body of a patient who died at the hospital in Rwampara, Democratic Republic of Congo, to a cemetery on Thursday.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 22, 2026
From Congo’s mines and forests, a cry for help in tackling ebola
At Nyankunde Hospital in the Ituri province of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dr. Charles Kashindi is on the frontline of the fight against the latest deadly outbreak of Ebola.
Japan is a leading and growing market for HTPs, also known as heat-not-burn products. They use electronic devices to heat tobacco and create a nicotine-containing aerosol without burning it.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 21, 2026
Heated tobacco products may be more harmful than cigarettes, Japan panel review says
The literature review found that heated tobacco products may produce greater amounts of cancer-causing substances than regular cigarettes.
A subsidiary of Itochu will take over the Japan sales operations of U.S. medical equipment maker SunMed Group Holdings, which does business in the country as AirLife.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 20, 2026
Itochu expands healthcare business with takeover of AirLife’s sales
The move comes as Japan’s trading houses cement healthcare as a key pillar of their businesses, placing it alongside traditional mainstays such as oil, gas and metals.
A health worker checks a visitor's temperature at a checkpoint for Kyeshero Hospital in Goma on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 19, 2026
Long-running conflicts muddy Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola response
The outbreak’s epicenter is in a border province where the violence wrought by various armed groups has led to intense episodes of internal displacement.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group President and Group CEO Toru Nakashima in 2025. Nakashima believes that Japan must make better use of medical resources.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 19, 2026
SMFG, Fujitsu and SoftBank forming medical alliance to help contain costs
As Japan faces another wave of retirees, technology might help keep the nation fit and control healthcare spending.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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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