Commentary / Japan Mar 26, 2019
Elderly workers: Expectations and challenges
by Heizo Takenaka
Labor system reforms have the potential to pave the way for greater roles for elderly workers in the workforce.
National / Social Issues Mar 25, 2019
Survey finds that half of Japan's home care workers experienced harassment in 2018
Around 50 percent of home care workers reported in a recent government survey that they had experienced some form of harassment from those being cared for, it was learned Sunday. In the first extensive survey conducted by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry on people ...
National / Crime & Legal Mar 14, 2019
Police arrested three men Wednesday over the robbery and murder of an 80-year-old woman in Tokyo last month, after investigators found similarities in the case with two other robberies targeting elderly people. Tatsumi Komatsuzono, 27, Hiroki Sue, 22, and Yuta Sakai, 22, allegedly broke into ...
National Mar 14, 2019
by Jack Tarrant
Setsuko Takamizawa is determined to prove that it is never too late to learn as she bids to conquer the English language before the Tokyo Olympics, having been prevented from learning what was considered the "enemy language" in her youth. When Japan last hosted the ...
Commentary / Japan Mar 6, 2019
Reform the labor practices peculiar to Japan
by Haruaki Deguchi
Many of the labor practices prevalent in Japan are quite extraordinary in light of global standards.
National Mar 4, 2019
As pool of candidates in rural Japan dwindles, Kochi village to allow councilors to retain side jobs
by Eric Johnston
Faced with a rapidly shrinking population of elderly residents reluctant to run for seats on the local council, the village of Okawa, Kochi Prefecture, passed a referendum Monday designed to make it easier serve on the council while concurrently holding side jobs. The measure goes ...
National / Social Issues | Regional voices: Chubu Mar 4, 2019
Few foreign residents aware of public nursing care plan but more expected to tap it as Japan grays
The number of foreign people living and retiring in Japan is expected to increase following the overhaul of the nation's immigration control law in April, which will introduce new types of working visas. However, only a small number of these residents appear fully aware of ...
National Feb 21, 2019
The move comes as the country struggles with a labor crunch in the face of an aging population and falling birthrate.
National Feb 14, 2019
Fatal crashes involving elderly drivers on the rise in Japan
The number of fatal crashes caused by elderly drivers, at 460, was up 42 from the previous year for the first increase in six years.
National / Crime & Legal Feb 4, 2019
Former nurse, held over elder abuse case in Gifu Prefecture, may be linked to four other cases
A nurse who previously worked at a home for the elderly in central Japan was arrested Sunday for an alleged 2017 assault on a resident in her 90s, with police suspecting he was also involved in four other cases. Takeshi Odori, 33, is suspected to ...
Editorials Jan 22, 2019
Repeat offenses by the nation's elderly population are an increasingly serious problem that demands attention and action.
National Jan 22, 2019
Nursing homes see spate of deaths amid flu outbreak across Japan
Amid an outbreak of influenza, the nation has seen a spate of deaths in recent days following mass infections at nursing care facilities. A facility called Shimizu Funai no Sato in Nantan, Kyoto Prefecture, said Tuesday that an 83-year-old resident died Sunday amid the outbreak, ...