News On Japan

Eating disorders on the rise in post-Covid Japan

Nov 12 (ucanews.com) - According to a survey conducted by the National Center for Child Health and Development in Tokyo, the number of Japanese citizens under the age of 20 who were newly diagnosed with anorexia – an eating disorder – increased by about 160 percent in fiscal 2020 compared to the previous year.

That is a huge rise. And what’s worse is that 6 to 10 percent of these kids will die as a result.

This increase may be related to lifestyle changes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

So what are these lifestyle changes?

The only time the Japanese students could find time to communicate with each other was during lunch break.

But now the anti-covid rule dictates that even during lunch students have to sit still while eating. No talking allowed, for fear of spreading Covid virus, of course.

One of the corollaries of this practice is that kids as young as 10 feel they get evaluated mostly by their appearance, not by their personality or communication skills.

Social media remains the only place that still allows showing a mask-less face.

This trend gets indeed more exasperated online where, especially girls, appear to be incredibly skinny, also helped by “beauty filters,” which create a whole new aesthetic fashion, so you can look just as “cute” on a live streaming platform. ...continue reading

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Torrential downpours in Japan's central Ishikawa Prefecture have caused river flooding and mudslides across the Noto region. Six people are dead and two are reported missing. (NHK)

Signs of winter are already arriving. Mount Rishiri in Hokkaido recorded the first snowfall of the season on Sunday, making it the first observed in Japan this year.

A test flight for flying cars was conducted in Wakayama Prefecture on Saturday, reaching an altitude of 40 meters, demonstrating stability in windy conditions.

Shohei Ohtani returned to Dodger Stadium in spectacular fashion, hitting a home run and stealing a base in his first game back, raising his season total to 52 home runs and 52 stolen bases.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio says Japan and China have reached an agreement that will lead to the resumption of China's imports of Japanese seafood. (NHK)

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

A group of Humboldt penguins at Tokuyama Zoo in Yamaguchi Prefecture has captured people's hearts, as they chase a butterfly that had accidentally flown into their pool enclosure.

A man in his 30s was stabbed in the chest at an anime song event in Saku City, Nagano Prefecture on Sunday, leaving the victim serious injured.

Tokyo has launched an official matchmaking app in an effort to increase the number of marriages, particularly as the city struggles with the lowest birthrate in Japan.

A search for 'breast pump' 「搾乳機」on YouTube returns numerous videos with titles like 'Introduction to Breast Pumping.' But what exactly are these videos?

Four high school students, aged 16 to 18, have been arrested on suspicion of injuring a third-year junior high school boy in a park in Machida City, Tokyo, in May of this year.

A fire broke out at a shrine in Ami-machi, Ibaraki Prefecture, burning a sacred tree over 500 years old, with police investigating the cause as a lightning strike.

A regional headquarters of the Japan Coast Guard has arrested the head of the operating company of a sightseeing boat that sank off the coast of Hokkaido, northern Japan, in 2022. (NHK)

Seven members of the organized crime group 'Chinese Dragon,' including 50-year-old Kazujirou Shirai, were arrested for disrupting business operations by causing a public disturbance in front of an Apple store in Omotesando, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.