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June 30, 2026
 

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TRANSPLANTS

Clinical trials are being planned in Japan where modified pig kidneys would be transplanted into humans.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 29, 2026
Two hospitals in Japan to conduct pig-to-human kidney transplant clinical trials in 2028
The startup spun out of Meiji University said it would aim to obtain production and marketing authorization after confirming their safety through the trials.
Researchers are able to use cow tendons in humans without triggering an immune response through a unique “decellularization” technology.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 25, 2026
Cow tendons eyed as ligament material for ACL reconstruction surgery
One of the researchers involved hopes to eventually apply the cow-derived material to the reconstruction of other ligaments in the knee, as well as in the ankle and inner elbow.
Organ transplants are sometimes called off due to staff shortages, for example, at medical institutions in Japan.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 28, 2026
Health ministry to give financial aid to organ transplant hospitals
The aid program is designed to reduce cases in which transplants are canceled due to staff shortages, as more people become organ donors.
Japan's health ministry has imposed restrictions on blood and organ donations from people who have stayed in Britain or elsewhere in Europe between 1980 and 2004.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2026
Japan to lift organ donation curbs for those who have stayed in Europe
The change is expected to take effect as early as this autumn.
Until now, heart transplant patients in Japan who have ventricular assist devices and are given Status 1 priority were ranked by waiting time regardless of urgency.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 24, 2026
Patients with urgent, high-risk conditions to get heart transplant priority
The policy shift aims to reduce deaths of patients waiting for transplants, particularly those at high risk of dying from complications.
St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo's Chuo Ward
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 18, 2026
Two women in Japan give birth after frozen ovarian transplants
It is rare that post-transplant pregnancies and childbirths by those who entered menopause due to cancer treatment have been closely monitored.
A clinical trial by a Tokyo-based venture company has confirmed that transplanting cardiac muscle cell clusters created from iPS cells into patients with severe heart failure improved their cardiac functions and symptoms.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 13, 2025
Tokyo startup confirms efficacy of iPS cell-derived heart muscle transplants
According to Friday’s announcement, the transplant was performed on 10 patients, and no major safety issues were confirmed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a military parade in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on Wednesday.
WORLD / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Sep 5, 2025
Could humans live forever, as Putin was heard telling Xi?
Maybe not, experts say, though serious research is increasingly revealing more about why we age — and how we could try to stop it.
A regenerative medicine startup, Kyoto-based iHeart Japan, said Monday that it has conducted a clinical trial to transplant a treatment sheet containing cardiac muscle cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells into a patient with a heart muscle disease.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 29, 2025
Japan startup transplants iPS cells for heart treatment in clinical trial
The layered sheet containing three types of cells and gelatin particles were placed on the surface of the heart, and are expected to improve the heart’s contractions.
It is the first transplant surgery in the hospital's clinical trial for treating Type 1 diabetes through the transplantation of pancreatic cell sheets made from iPS cells.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2025
Kyoto hospital succeeds in iPS sheet transplant to diabetic patient
It is the first clinical application of such sheets in Japan.
The Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. A team from the university has successfully transplanted kidneys between rat fetuses.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 11, 2025
Japanese research team succeeds in fetal rat kidney transplant
The success of the team at Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo marks a key step toward clinical studies involving cross-species organ transplantation.
Keio University in Tokyo's Minato Ward. The university's ethics committee has approved clinical research that would lead to the first uterine transplant procedure in Japan.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 28, 2025
Keio University ethics panel OKs uterus transplant clinical trial
The university will consider whether to carry out the research, which would be the first uterine transplant procedure in Japan.
The third patient to receive a genetically engineered pig kidney is thriving post-transplant, providing valuable insights into animal-to-human organ replacement and bringing the field closer to clinical trials. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2025
Why a recent pig kidney transplant is a major advance
The 53-year-old woman who received the genetically modified animal organ is the ideal recipient to push science forward.
Currently, if a hospital declines an organ due to logistical or other issues, it is instead offered to a patient at another facility.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 6, 2024
Multi-facility option set for patients awaiting organ transplants
The health ministry aims to address situations in which high-priority patients miss out on transplants due to logistical issues at their hospital.
A pig that is pregnant with piglets suited for cross-species transplants
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 25, 2024
Startup transplants pig kidney into monkey for first time in Japan
It is hoped that the operation will provide insights into the future use of animal kidneys in humans.
The anterior cruciate ligament can be damaged when people play sports such as soccer and basketball, and does not heal on its own, requiring reconstructive surgery.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 7, 2024
Clinical trial to use cow tendons for ligament reconstruction
The number of patients who undergo anterior cruciate ligament surgery in Japan is about 19,000 annually, including many professional soccer players and sumo wrestlers.
The National Cancer Center Hospital in Tokyo's Chuo Ward. A study by researchers at the hospital aims to determine whether restoring a healthy intestinal environment can enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy drugs used in cancer treatment.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 6, 2024
Japan explores intestinal flora transplants for cancer treatment
A study aims to determine whether restoring a healthy intestinal environment can make drugs used in the treatment of esophageal and stomach cancers more effective.
Takashi Kobayashi, a professor at Kyoto University Hospital's urology department, speaks at a news conference in Kyoto on Monday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 1, 2024
Kidney transplant between same-sex couple conducted in Kyoto
This is the first time that a living organ transplant between same-sex partners has been disclosed in Japan.
A total of 509 patients in Japan had to give up on organ transplant operations last year because hospitals were unable to carry out such procedures, according to a health ministry survey.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 25, 2024
Hospital shortcomings forced 509 patients to abandon organ transplants
A lack of hospital staff and insufficient space in intensive care units needed for such operations were among the reasons.
A colony of human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells established from fibroblasts. Kyoto University Hospital is looking to develop a treatment for Type 1 diabetes using iPS cells.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 3, 2024
Kyoto University Hospital seeks to treat Type 1 diabetes using iPS cells
Researchers will begin clinical trial of a treatment as early as next year, which they hope will become available in the 2030s.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

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