Kuchikomi
Making proactive efforts to avoid early onset of dementia
Medical science is still awaiting discoveries that will pinpoint the cause, and bring about a cure, for Alzheimer's disease. Right now, however, the best we can say is that physicians who treat the disease are in general agreement regarding certain points, such as the need to prevent buildup of amyloid… Read
Tokyo's once-gritty neighbor Kawasaki now tops Japan in longevity stats
Asao Ward, a district in Kawasaki, a once-smoky industrial city of about 1.5 million shoehorned between Tokyo and Yokohama, is basking in unexpected acclaim. According to population data compiled by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in 2020, the city's mostly residential Asao Ward ranked first in the nation… Read
Struggling on low salaries, adults falling into SNS traps for 'black' part-time jobs
Extreme aging spawns problems never faced before. Old age is not new, nor loneliness, nor poverty – yet all acquire novel features when, at 60, life may be barely half over. Ask “Sadao Kato” (all names in this story are pseudonyms). Spa (May 23) introduces him in illustration of its… Read
Ripping off and reselling Rolex watches not kids' play
At around 6:15 p.m. on Monday, May 8, a trio of teenaged thieves attempted a smash-and-grab robbery at Quark Ginza 888, a luxury watch emporium in Tokyo's Ginza district. "Even among jewelry stores selling high-priced items, there's a strong likelihood this particular shop was singled out," a police source tells… Read
Watch out for groups with 'a hidden religious agenda,' warns education ministry
Slowly, life returns to normal. It’s been nearly four years. COVID-19 has cost us dearly. There’s the death toll (7 million worldwide), the economic toll ($12.5 trillion, the International Monetary Fund estimates), and the psychological toll, incalculable and immeasurable – faces masked, social life stifled, opportunities lost, enterprise aborted. A… Read
Smartphone addiction among seniors a serious and growing problem
"Doctor," appealed family members of a 69-year-old man, "Please talk to him. We have got to do something." The man in question, described as having a "forthright and methodical" personality, had not even owned a mobile phone until he retired from his job. But now he's totally addicted by the… Read
As jobs go extinct for lack of workers, how will society cope?
"I'm certain that in the near future, carpenters as we know them today will disappear. Even now, nearly all of them work as 'one-man bosses' who can't recruit new apprentices. So most of them are subcontracting their services to homebuilding companies." So says Tomihisa Sato, director of the carpenters union… Read
Teaching in Japan sinking to status of 'black' profession
Who wants to be a teacher these days? A once noble and attractive profession has sunk to the status dubbed “black,” suggesting working conditions approximating slavery. Long hours, low pay, grinding pressure, abuse from above, abuse from below – a toxic mix, spawning what Spa (May 2-9) aptly calls a “school crisis.”… Read
Newly developed test kit enables speedy detection of date rape drugs
Japan's police have adopted new advancements in technology to prosecute men who drug women for purposes of rape. As reported in the Sankei Shimbun (April 26), the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has been working with a private company to develop a test kit that will enable rapid identification of… Read
Medical survey bears out that lusty old men likely to live longer
Appealing, perhaps, to its aging reader base, Shukan Post of April 7-14 extensively covered recent advancements in geriatric medicine. Professor Yasumichi Arai, head of Keio University Hospital's Center for Supercentenarian Medical Research, had some interesting things to say about degenerative diseases and changes in diet between middle age and beyond.… Read
