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July 12, 2026
 

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HEALTH

Takeda Pharmaceutical headquarters in Tokyo. The company said it will "vigorously pursue" an appeal after a U.S. jury on Monday found the company liable for causing about $885 million in damages by delaying a generic version of its constipation drug through an anticompetitive scheme.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 19, 2026
Takeda engaged in antitrust scheme to delay generic constipation drug: U.S. jury
The verdict is the ​first time ‌a jury has found a pharmaceutical company liable in class-action litigation over what is called a “pay-for-delay” agreement with generic rivals.
Health minister Kenichiro Ueno speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 19, 2026
Japan supplies antiviral drug to U.K. in response to hantavirus
The U.K. Health Security Agency accepted delivery of the drug, which remains experimental for use to treat hantavirus.
Amgen headquarters in Thousand Oaks, California. Kissei Pharmaceutical, which sells Amgen's drug Tavneos in Japan, is recommending that doctors stop prescribing it, adding to pressure on the company over a medicine that’s attracted scrutiny from health regulators worldwide.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 16, 2026
Amgen’s Tavneos discouraged by Japanese partner after deaths
Twenty people in Japan died after taking Tavneos, though it’s unclear whether the drug killed those people, a media report said.
A medical worker puts on personal protective equipment before entering an Ebola treatment center in Beni, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in August 2018.
WORLD
May 16, 2026
Ebola’s Africa spread tests global response after aid cuts
An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo linked to 80 deaths and hundreds of suspected infections has spread across the border to Uganda.
The government hopes to reduce medical expenses by asking people to pay more for prescription drugs similar to those that can be purchased at drugstores.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 15, 2026
Co-payment to reach 50% for prescription drugs similar to OTC ones in Japan
The current medical system has been criticized for allowing drugs that could be replaced by over-the-counter alternatives to be bought for cheaper through public health insurance.
The Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which will host six matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Scientists warned FIFA that 1 in 4 of the World Cup games could take place in very hot conditions.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 15, 2026
Scientists warn ‘grueling heat’ could impact quarter of World Cup games
Concerns about heat already prompted FIFA to mandate a cooling break during each half of the World Cup matches that will take place in June in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Jun Tsuyama, a lecturer at the Institute of Science Tokyo, speaking Wednesday during a news conferenceat the university in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward. During the event, Tsuyama explained that a candidate drug capable of sustaining the period for potential recovery after a stroke has been developed in mice.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 14, 2026
Japan team identifies drug candidate that may extend recovery after stroke
The period during which motor functions lost due to a stroke can be recovered is currently limited to about two months.
A team of Japanese researchers has found that people who have suffered from heatstroke were twice as likely to develop cataracts.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 13, 2026
Heatstroke doubles risks for cataracts, Japanese study finds
The study by researchers at the Nagoya Institute of Technology is the largest one to show a possible link between a rise in body temperature and the condition.
A couple and their eldest son are accused of causing injury through unlawful confinement after allegedly restraining their daughter with homemade metal devices and confining her for several days in late January inside a locked closet at their home in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 13, 2026
Tokyo couple and son arrested on suspicion of locking up daughter in closet for days
The girl, a middle schooler, was found suffering from hypothermia and bedsores on her back when she was rescued in January, and required about a week of treatment.
Passengers on a third evacuation flight from Tenerife arrive at Eindhoven Air Base in Eindhoven, Netherlands, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
May 13, 2026
Uncertainty over hantavirus spread complicates global response to cruise ship outbreak
While some repatriated passengers are being placed in biocontainment units, such as in France, passengers in the Netherlands are being asked to self-isolate for six weeks.
"The next five years are critical in defining Daiichi Sankyo’s future,” CEO Hiroyuki Okuzawa said Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 12, 2026
Daiichi Sankyo bets on new cancer drugs to fuel future growth
The Japanese drugmaker aims to more than double oncology revenue to above ¥2.3 trillion by 2030 and become one of the world’s top five oncology players by 2035.
An exhibit at a brain research facility at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology in China in 2025
WORLD
May 12, 2026
Why brain implants are more than a sci-fi fantasy
Researchers have been working for decades on brain-computer interfaces to help those suffering from paralysis, blindness and hearing loss.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 11, 2026
Japan does not expect immediate impact from hantavirus
“We will make every effort to take necessary infection control measures while monitoring the situation,” the top government spokesman said at a news conference.
The cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, arrives at the port of Granadilla de Abona, in Tenerife, Spain, on Sunday.
JAPAN
May 11, 2026
Japanese national from hantavirus-hit ship arrives in Britain
Based on recommendations from the World Health Organization, the person will undergo health monitoring by British health authorities for up to 45 days.
A town assembly in Akita Prefecture passed a no-confidence motion Friday against its mayor, a move that will automatically remove him from office on May 19 under the local autonomy law.
JAPAN / Politics
May 8, 2026
Town assembly in Akita Prefecture removes unconscious mayor
The 72-year-old mayor of Hachirogata has been unable to work for months following a brain hemorrhage.
Three years have passed since COVID-19 was reclassified into lower-risk category, and the government is making efforts to avoid a repeat of misinformation and discrimination during infectious disease outbreaks.
JAPAN
May 8, 2026
Three years after COVID-19’s reclassification, what’s changed?
Government efforts to overhaul its communication to stamp out misinformation, discrimination and public confusion in times of health crises remain ongoing.
A deadly suspected hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius en route from Argentina to the African island of Cape Verde is under investigation, though experts say wider spread is unlikely.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2026
The hantavirus outbreak is cause for caution, not panic
Hantaviruses are spread by mice, rats and other rodents. Human infections, which occur when people come in contact with droppings or urine, are relatively uncommon.
Hantavirus is a rare infection typically spread through contact with infected rodent droppings or inhaling contaminated dust. Symptoms can take weeks to appear, and severe cases can progress rapidly to respiratory failure.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 8, 2026
Health officials downplay pandemic risk from cruise hantavirus outbreak
Hantavirus is less transmissible than the coronavirus and doctors say it’s also less adept at mutating.
Dr. Bavon Tangunza, who counters health misinformation, shows a screen during a demonstration of infodemic applications at the World Health Organization headquarters in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Feb. 23.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 7, 2026
Fake rumors, real killings: Inside Congo’s deadly health misinformation crisis
At least 17 killings related to rumors claiming a mysterious illness is causing men’s genitals to atrophy have been reported the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A scientist from the Malbran Institute handles containers used to diagnose the Andes hantavirus, which contain RNA from the Andes virus as part of the detection process, in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 7, 2026
Risk of hantavirus transmitting between humans is low, health ministry says
The virus has infected several passengers, killing three, who were aboard a Dutch cruise ship.
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.
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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
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