Health

People who eat fermented soy-based foods such as "natto" and "miso" on a daily basis reduce the risk of dying from a stroke or heart attack by 10 percent, according to a long-term study by the National Cancer Center.

A patient who received the world’s first transplant of cardiac muscle cells using artificially derived stem cells known as iPS cells this month is in stable condition, an Osaka University team said Jan. 27.

Daiichi Sankyo, a Japanese drugmaker that has not had a blockbuster product for nearly a decade, is surging in market value, joining the 5 trillion yen ($46 billion) club that also includes such marquee names as Nintendo and Honda Motor.

Aspirin, aside from acting as a mild pain reliever, could help control the development of dementia among women with diabetes, researchers say.

A Japanese researcher who won the Nobel Prize for his work with stem cells said in a speech Tuesday that developing advanced medical treatments needs to become faster and cheaper.

Japan is a sleep-deprived superpower. Statistics compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development show Japanese people sleeping on average 442 minutes a night — as against 528 minutes in the United States, 542 in China, 513 in France and 508 in Britain. One Japanese in 5 sleeps badly, says the health ministry — 1 in 3 among those 60 and older.

Takeda Pharmaceutical plans to become the first Japanese drugmaker to market vaccines on a global scale, taking advantage of access to new sales channels gained from its acquisition of Irish peer Shire last year.

A Japanese research team has developed a new method to inhibit vomiting and nausea in patients after they are administered anticancer drugs.

Japan prides itself on having the world’s lowest birth mortality rates for women and infants, but a decline in facilities staffed with obstetricians and gynecologists, as well as the advancing age of first-time mothers here, has raised growing doubts about the future of that claim.These concerns sparked entrepreneur Yhuko Ogata of Kagawa Prefecture, who commercialized Japan’s first electronic medical record software for obstetricians and gynecologists, to seek ways to address this growing uncertainty through remote pregnancy monitoring.

A science ministry committee on Monday approved a research program to grow human organs, such as the pancreas, inside the bodies of pigs for use in medical transplantation.