Commentary: A former Philip Morris employee blew the whistle on how the company manipulates research at major Japanese universities. Now he wants tobacco policy to change.

Japan's remarkable longevity rates are more than a medical achievement. As the number of active older adults increases, they're also changing our ideas on aging.

The latest edition of "The Extra" newsletter by @japantimes.co.jp highlights our #health coverage. Yay! Interested in health, longevity and allergy trends in #Japan? Get a taste through these gift links and sign up for our newsletters from here: www.japantimes.co.jp/email-newsle...

Analysis shows climate change helped fuel wildfires that broke out last week in parts of southern Japan and southeastern South Korea. By @tomokootake.bsky.social at @japantimes.co.jp

More than 1,900 scientists write letter in ‘SOS’ over Trump’s attacks on science

“Failure is not disgrace” For The Japan Times I wrote about Tokyo Fail Club, where speakers discuss ventures gone wrong, bankruptcy and depression www.japantimes.co.jp/business/202...

A life reduced to objects, a death unnoticed. Spend time with some of those tasked with cleaning up after "solitary deaths," known in Japan as "kodokushi."

Wildfires that began on Sunday in Ehime and Okayama prefectures in western Japan have burned through over 900 hectares of land.

Large wildfires in South Korea, east of Daejeon, are producing thick smoke (dark red shading) today 26 Mar that blew eastward to Japan, reaching as far as Tokyo, observed by aerosol optical depth from the VIIRS sensor on @noaa.gov satellites. Data gaps caused by clouds. @mparrington.bsky.social

Yellow sand blankets cities across Japan www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03...

Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03...

【韓国山火事の煙か】 昨日3月25日(火)から日本列島に黄砂が飛来していますが、それと同時に韓国で発生した山火事の煙も流れてきている可能性があります。 今日は東海地方などで「野焼きのような匂いを感じる」という声が増加していて、韓国の山火事の影響が考えられます。 weathernews.jp/s/topics/202...

As pollen season peaks, Japan\'s allergy struggle emerges from hibernation www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03...

As Japan braces for another summer of record-breaking heat, the health ministry has decided to make businesses that fail to take heatstroke countermeasures criminally liable.

For this year's #InternationalWomensDay, I wrote about the history of periods and menstrual products in Japan. I learned some amazing facts, including the story of a woman who marketed Japan's first mass-produced sanitary pads and a man who shaped the industry. www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03...

Excessive levels of PFAS have been detected in water from 44 private suppliers across Japan, including five that supply Self-Defense Forces facilities, according to a government survey.

Japan is pushing through a new target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2035, even as the plan faces criticism as lacking in ambition.

Official prices of nearly half of all drugs in Japan will be reduced to lower the financial burden on patients.

Shizuoka Prefecture has recorded the longest estimated average healthy life expectancy for both men and women, the health ministry has said.

Japanese government officials have inspected the Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo following a leak of water containing toxic “forever chemicals” outside the U.S. base in August.

In 2024, people across Japan wanted to get healthier — they just didn’t want to spend much time, money or effort doing it.

Interesting: “Japanese people were the most eager to study, ranking first in the world for the highest average time that people spent learning a language and up from second place last year”

A team of Japanese scientists has concluded that global warming was what caused Hokkaido to receive up to 20% more snow than usual in December 2021.

!? "Earlier this month, Soon-Shiong announced plans to incorporate an artificial intelligence-powered “bias meter” into newspaper articles."

Next week, school lunches in Sayama City will include famichiki provided free by Family Mart. This is to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the city's establishment, and the opening of the firm's first convenience store there in 1973. www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/202...

"Expert" panels are ubiquitous in Japan's government, setting policy directions for everything from energy to public health, but are they fair and balanced? @russ-chris.bsky.social and I examined the question through a recent debate over climate policy-related committees. For @japantimes.co.jp

Thank you!

As this year’s Nobel Prizes were announced in early October, once again Japan’s scientific community held its breath ... and once again they came away empty-handed. When will Japan get another shot at the prize? My latest Longform @japantimes.co.jp : www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/12...

There's been a lot of confusion among people about health insurance cards in Japan and their integration with My Number cards. This story explains what happens today and what insurance users in Japan need to keep in mind: www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/12...

Here we are. Pleased to meet you! 👋

#Plastic pollution is so ubiquitous it has been found in clouds, the deepest ocean trenches and even human breastmilk. And while almost everyone agrees it is a problem, there is less consensus on how to solve it. @afpnews.bsky.social reports from Busan www.channelnewsasia.com/world/plasti...

My latest: www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/11...

How the arrival of TSMC is impacting groundwater in Kumamoto, which is relied upon by its 1 million residents. Reported for @japantimes.co.jp www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/...

Hello 🦋 followers. Let us introduce you to The Extra, a fortnightly newsletter spotlighting stories from our archives. If you want to read all about it, be sure to sign up for future issues. Bonus: These links are our gifts to you. 🎁 www.japantimes.co.jp/email-newsle...

The town of Kibichuo in Okayama Prefecture on Monday started blood tests for residents after PFAS, which are potentially carcinogenic chemicals, were detected at a local water purification plant.

Japanese social media users are quickly taking to Bluesky and other X alternatives, with data suggesting the start of a durable trend.