National Feb 13, 2020
Deaths caused by Japan's elderly drivers fell in 2019 from record to 401
The number of fatal traffic accidents per 100,000 license holders age 75 or older stood at 6.9 in 2019, down 1.3 from the previous year.
National Feb 13, 2020
112-year-old Japanese recognized as world's oldest living man
A 112-year-old Japanese who has been recognized as the world's oldest living man cited "laughter" Wednesday as the secret to his longevity. Chitetsu Watanabe, who was born on March 5, 1907, pumped his fist as he was handed a certificate by a Guinness World Records ...
National Feb 12, 2020
Facilities for the elderly bracing for mass COVID-19 infection
Care homes for elderly people are taking full-fledged measures to prevent mass COVID-19 infections. They are concerned that once elderly people get the virus, their symptoms tend to become serious. Workers at Wayoen, a home for the elderly in the city of Chiba, have been instructed ...
National Feb 11, 2020
IMF urges gradual consumption tax hike in rapidly graying Japan
The IMF said the tax would need to be lifted to 20 percent by 2050 to finance swelling costs due to an aging population.
National / Crime & Legal Feb 6, 2020
Ex-top bureaucrat indicted over fatal 2019 car crash in Ikebukuro
Prosecutors on Thursday indicted an 88-year-old former senior bureaucrat on a charge of negligence resulting in death and injury over a fatal car accident in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district last year. Kozo Iizuka, former chief of the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, is accused of ...
National Feb 4, 2020
In a bid to dampen the effects of a rapidly graying society, the Cabinet on Tuesday approved bills to urge businesses to let employees work until age 70.
Commentary / World Feb 1, 2020
No, we don't have a natural lifespan of 38
by Faye Flam
A cool new study on longevity got distorted by the popular press.
World / Politics Jan 21, 2020
Get ready for 'peak decade,' strategists tell peers at Davos
by Enda Curran
Amid the Alpine peaks of the Swiss resort of Davos this week, politicians, investors and executives are busy debating whether we are witnessing peaks in multiple key drivers of the world economy. From oil demand, car production and the proportion of young people as a ...
National Jan 20, 2020
Ministry to extend provisional certification for care course graduates
As part of efforts to alleviate a labor shortage in the elderly care sector, the welfare ministry plans to extend to fiscal 2026 special transitional measures that grant graduates of care courses provisional certification without the need to pass a national exam, ministry sources ...
National Jan 19, 2020
Japan's Unicharm develops world's first diapers for elderly with walking difficulties
Unicharm Corp. has developed the world's first adult diapers designed to help elderly people with walking difficulties move more easily. The product, to go on sale in Japan on Feb. 4, addresses a market need spurred on by the nation's rapidly graying population, according to ...
National / Social Issues | FOCUS Jan 12, 2020
Japanese women face a future of poverty, as confluence of factors conspire against them
by Marika Katanuma
At first glance, things seem to be getting better for Japanese women. In an economy that's historically lagged other developed nations when it comes to female workforce participation, a record 71 percent are now employed, an 11 point leap over a decade ago. The government boasts ...
National Jan 8, 2020
Japan to urge firms to employ workers until age 70 from next year
The labor ministry plans to urge companies from April 2021 to ensure jobs are available for workers until the age of 70, it was learned Wednesday. The ministry will also require large companies with over 300 workers to publish the number of mid-career hires on ...