Things You Should Do To Prevent CKD - Medical Frontiers
A large-scale study in Japan has shown that improving one's diet and lifestyle can slow the progression of chronic kidney disease. Clinical trials in regenerative medicine are also underway.
Dialysis is usually done three times a week, with each session lasting four hours
Small changes to diet and lifestyle can make a big difference
Diabetes medication is effective for CKD
Administering stem cells to mice reduced kidney inflammation
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Japan Times
13 hours ago
- Japan Times
491 dementia sufferers found dead in Japan in 2024
The number of people with dementia in Japan who were found dead after going missing totaled 491 in 2024, according to National Police Agency (NPA) data. Of that total, 382 of them, or 77.8%, were discovered within 5 kilometers of the places where they disappeared, according to the data. About half of the total were discovered within a kilometer. According to the NPA, 18,121 people with dementia or suspected of having dementia went missing in 2024. Most of them were found within a week after missing person reports were filed. The most common locations where dementia sufferers were found dead were in or near a river (115 people), followed by irrigation channels and gutters (79), and mountains and forests (71). These locations accounted for 54% of the total, suggesting that many are believed to have drowned or died after a fall. However, the data also indicates that in 111 cases, people who were declared missing were later rescued thanks to GPS or other tracking devices attached to their clothing. "A swift response leads to safe rescues," an NPA official said, calling for the use of GPS or other devices as some municipalities lend them for free. Some people fell in the mountains or traveled to neighboring prefectures by train, a situation in which early discovery would have been difficult without GPS devices. In addition, drones were effective in search and rescue operations in some cases, according to the NPA. The agency will analyze these cases to consider quick and effective search methods.
Japan Times
14 hours ago
- Japan Times
Objectivity seen as key to screening AI weapons
The Defense Ministry has compiled guidelines on ensuring appropriate human involvement in the research and development of defense equipment using artificial intelligence. The guidelines are expected to cover R&D activities for equipment such as unmanned combat-support drones and ships, but ensuring objectivity and reliability remains a key challenge, since ministry officials are responsible for screening these activities. The effectiveness of the guidelines also depends on how much AI data related to intellectual property private-sector companies disclose during R&D programs. The United Nations is discussing how to regulate lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), which use AI to identify and select targets without human involvement. The Japanese government maintains that it does not intend to develop fully autonomous lethal weapons or conduct R&D on defense equipment banned under international or domestic law. The guidelines include checks for compliance with international humanitarian law, clear assignment of human responsibility, prevention of overreliance on AI and fairness, meaning efforts to prevent discriminatory outcomes caused by uneven data use. Screenings will be carried out by a panel made up mainly of officials from the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency, an affiliate of the Defense Ministry, along with a council of experts within the ministry. During the technology review process, the ministry will seek input on risk management from external experts familiar with advanced technologies, but it will make the final decisions on whether individual AI-related defense R&D projects are appropriate. While the Foreign Ministry takes part in international discussions on rules for LAWS, it does not participate in the screening process. A Defense Ministry official noted, "We regularly hold discussions and share our views on LAWS with the Foreign Ministry." As part of the screening process, private-sector companies involved in R&D may be asked to disclose the AI learning data and algorithms they use. Since the guidelines are not legally binding, one option could be to include such disclosure as a condition in the contracts. "Through dialogue with the defense industry, we'll consider an appropriate way while striking a balance, including how to protect companies' intellectual property rights," a senior Defense Ministry official said.
Kyodo News
2 days ago
- Kyodo News
Japan ispace fails in bid for 1st Moon landing by Asian private firm
KYODO NEWS - 16 hours ago - 15:39 | All, Japan Japanese startup ispace Inc. failed in its attempt to become the first private firm in Asia to touch down on the Moon when its lunar lander apparently crashed on Friday, dealing a blow as it seeks to catch up with U.S. rivals following an unsuccessful inaugural mission in 2023. With touchdown planned for 4:17 a.m. on Friday, Japan time, the lander, Resilience, began descending from an altitude of around 100 kilometers but was unable to decelerate to the required speed, ispace said. "Based on the circumstances, it is currently assumed that the lander likely performed a hard landing on the lunar surface," the company said, adding communication had been lost. The Tokyo-based company's CEO Takeshi Hakamada apologized to supporters at a press conference, saying the outcome was "disappointing." The company will strive to identify the cause of the failure and make another attempt in 2027 with a new lander. "We would like to catch up as quickly as possible" with U.S. companies that have already achieved the feat, he said. The company's first attempt to reach the Moon's northern hemisphere in April 2023 with a different spacecraft was unsuccessful, with the lander likely having crashed on the lunar surface. Irregularities in the altitude measurement system at that time led the lander to eventually run out of fuel during descent, resulting in a free fall to the Moon's surface. U.S. company Intuitive Machines Inc. subsequently became the first private firm in the world to successfully land a spacecraft on the lunar surface in February 2024. Resilience, transporting a rover and equipment to carry out experiments, lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Jan. 15, sharing a SpaceX rocket launch with U.S. firm Firefly Aerospace Inc.'s lunar lander. Firefly's Blue Ghost, which took a different route from the ispace lander to reach the surface, touched down on the Moon on March 2. After entering lunar orbit in May, the Japanese lander -- 2.3 meters high and 2.6 meters wide -- started descending shortly after 3 a.m., with a planned deceleration from 580 km to 2 km per hour by the firing of its engine toward the lunar surface. However, data transmission stopped at an altitude of 192 meters while the lander was moving at a faster speed than expected, possibly due to the malfunction of an altitude measurement sensor. "As of 8 a.m. on June 6, 2025, mission controllers had determined that it is unlikely that communication with the lander will be restored," ispace said in a press release. "It has been decided to conclude the mission." Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed hope that the latest attempt by ispace will lead to "a further leap." "My expectation for ispace will not waver," he said on the social media platform X. Related coverage: Astronaut Onishi blasts off on mission as 3rd Japanese to lead ISS Japan firm's rover ends mission on Moon, gives up surface exploration ispace to attempt June Moon landing, would be 1st by Japan firm
