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Previous scholars have identified sarariman (salaried men), who prioritise work over family, as the ideal of hegemonic masculinity in Japan. This study focuses on sarariman characters' language use in the workplace as depicted in the 2015 Japanese TV drama Age Harassment. Employing the concepts of stance and hegemonic masculinities, the study demonstrates that, in this mediatised representation, the sarariman characters draw on diverse gender ideologies to display masculine identities. Using online commentary, the study also explores audience members' responses to the drama's depiction of masculinities. The study's analysis of these two types of data suggests that despite increasing social acceptance of more diverse masculinities, the stereotypical sarariman remains to some extent the hegemonic ideal in contemporary Japan.

This study qualitatively examines linguistic practices of Japanese male superiors in interactions with male subordinates in a Japanese workplace, focusing particularly on their use of two linguistic forms: Vroot+(y)oo (Let's do X) and Vroot+ro/e (Do X!). The study illustrates two practices of these male superiors: first, they use Vroot+(y)oo, which is not strongly associated with normative men's language, in interactions where normative men's language is otherwise used. Second, they utilize a strongly male-associated form, Vroot+ro/e, in interactions that otherwise involve feminine-associated stylistic features. The analysis shows how these two linguistic forms, when used in such interactions, contribute to male superiors' facework. Confirming a claim made in previous research, this study suggests that speakers use normative language less associated with their own gender in order to convey a specific pragmatic meaning and to achieve certain communicative ends in ongoing interactions.

BACKGROUND: Children's healthy development is important. While governmental public assistance benefits financially troubled families, it cannot compensate for a lack of social support. Single-parenthood is a health risk factor for children owing to low-income-associated food insecurity and stress. No study has investigated the association between single-parenthood and health status in children from families receiving public assistance. This study aimed to examine the association between single-parent households and children's health among public assistance recipients in Japan by using linkage data of two municipal public assistance databases and administrative medical assistance data. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study. Public assistance for households below the poverty line ensures income security and medical care. The study population included all children aged 15 or younger availing public assistance in January 2016. We extracted recipients' sociodemographic factors from January 2016 and identified the incidence of childhood diseases' diagnosis until December 2016 as the outcome, including 1) acute upper respiratory infections; 2) influenza and pneumonia; 3) injuries, including fractures; 4) intestinal infectious diseases; 5) conjunctivitis; 6) asthma; 7) allergic rhinitis; 8) dermatitis and eczema, including atopic dermatitis; and 9) diseases of the oral cavities, salivary glands, and jaws, such as tooth decay or dental caries. RESULTS: Among the 573 children, 383 (66.8%) lived in single-parent households. A multivariable Poisson regression, with a robust standard error estimator, showed that single-parenthood is associated with a higher prevalence of asthma (incidence ratio [IR] = 1.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16–2.26), allergic rhinitis (IR = 1.41; 95% CI, 1.07–1.86), dermatitis and eczema (IR = 1.81; 95% CI, 1.21–2.70), and dental diseases (IR = 1.79; 95% CI, 1.33–2.42) compared to non-single parent households, whereas little association was found between single-parenthood and ...

Complex multimorbidity (CMM) has been proposed as a more nuanced concept of multimorbidity (MM). We sought to quantify the association of CMM and MM on the incidence of long-term care (LTC) needs in a cohort of older Japanese people. Our follow-up was based on a nationwide longitudinal cohort study of people aged over 65 years who were functionally dependent at baseline. Our outcome was incident LTC needs, based on certification under the Japanese LTC insurance scheme. We used both propensity score matching and inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTW) to compare individuals with and without MM versus CMM. A total of 38,889 older adults were included: 20,233 (52.0%) and 7565 (19.5%) adults with MM and CMM, respectively. In propensity-matched analyses, both MM (n = 15,666 pairs) and CMM (n = 7524 pairs) were statistically significantly associated with the six-year LTC insurance certification rate (MM, hazard ratio (HR) 1.07, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 1.02–1.12; CMM, HR 1.10, 95%CI 1.04–1.16). Both MM and CMM were associated with a modest but statistically significantly higher rate of LTC insurance certification. These findings support the inclusion of multimorbidity in the assessment of LTC insurance needs, although the Japanese government currently has not adopted this.

OBJECTIVES: Using linkage data from two municipal public assistance databases and medical assistance claim data, this study aimed to identify characteristics associated with frequent outpatient attendance by people on public assistance, who can access medical care services without copayment in Japan, with simultaneous consideration of supplier factors. DESIGN: We performed a retrospective cohort study. SETTING: We used secondary data from the public assistance databases of two suburban municipalities in Japan. PARTICIPANTS: The study population included all adults on public assistance in January 2016, who were observed until December 2016. A total of 6016 people was included in the analysis. Among them, 2956 (49.1%) were men, and 2030 (33.7%) were living alone. OUTCOME MEASURE: We adopted the definition of frequent outpatient attendance by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, visiting the same medical facility 15 times or more in a month for the same health problem. RESULTS: Of 6016 included people, 139 (2.3%) were engaged in frequent outpatient attendance. Multiple Poisson regression showed that, as for the individual factors, the adjusted incidence ratio for frequent outpatient attendance was 1.58 (95% CI 1.05 to 2.39) for people living alone (vs living with others). As for the suppliers, the adjusted incidence ratio for frequent outpatient attendance was 1.74 (95% CI 1.20 to 2.52) for private institutions (vs medical corporations). There were no significant associations between frequent outpatient attendance and individual disability certificate or long-term care needs. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that among recipients of public assistance who can access medical services without copayment, social isolation may be associated with frequent outpatient attendance. Private clinics may also be associated with this phenomenon. Interventions to prevent social isolation—by for example, providing health and social care in a more integrated manner—may thus be efficacious in reducing the healthcare ...

AbstractIn Japan, risk behaviors for cancer remain inadequately controlled, often due to a lack of necessary information and support to guide consumers in cancer control decisions. The use of strategic health communication efforts based on social marketing has substantial potential to provide groups of consumers who are underinformed or misinformed with relevant cancer information, both to reinforce their cancer awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs and to strengthen behaviors to prevent cancer. The INFORM Study monitors these variables nationally and identifies populations most in need of cancer‐related information. A nationally representative cross‐sectional mail survey was used to investigate consumer behaviors related to cancer prevention and screening, as well as cancer knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, and access to and use of trusted cancer information. A total of 10,000 Japanese aged 20 years or older were selected by two‐stage stratified random sampling. The self‐administered questionnaire consisted of core items from the Health Information National Trends Survey in the United States with some additional items not covered in HINTS but important in Japan. This national survey is expected to play an important role in promoting effective dissemination of evidence‐based recommendations.

Abstract Background In Japan, new HPV immunizations have dropped dramatically after repeated adverse media reports and a June 2013 temporary suspension of the government's recommendation for the vaccine. The aim of the present study was to develop an efficient strategy to improve HPV immunization coverage across Japan. Methods We conducted an internet survey in Japan of mothers of 12–16 year-old girls who were unvaccinated as of May, 2015. The goal was to gather behavioral information from the mothers to develop a strategy for improving Japanese HPV immunization coverage. Results Valid survey answers were obtained from 2060 mothers. The survey found that a hypothetical restart of a governmental recommendation for the vaccine would induce 4.1 % of all the mothers surveyed to be more likely to encourage vaccination of their daughters, without any other preconditions. This initial result would be followed by a moderate spread of vaccinations to these daughters' close friends and acquaintances, hypothetically resulting in a total vaccination rate of 21.0 % of the targeted age-eligible girls. As a second critical step for improving vaccinations, an educational information sheet integrating the concepts of behavioral economics for changing behaviors was found to be significantly effective for persuading mothers with poorer decision-making facilities, who would otherwise prefer to wait to first see the vaccination of other girls of the same age as their daughter. Conclusions Following what we foresee as the inevitable restart of the Japanese government's recommendation for receiving the HPV vaccine, we expect to first see vaccinations occurring in a very small group of girls, the daughters of the most willing mothers, which will be roughly 4 % of those eligible for government paid vaccinations. This will be .

In Japan, the trend for cervical cancer at younger ages has been increasing. As a countermeasure, the HPV vaccine was introduced as a routine vaccination in April 2013. However, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) announced a "Suspension of its active inoculation recommendation for HPV vaccine" in June 2013. In 2016, 32 months after that suspension, we conducted survey via Internet and compared the results with our previous ones conducted at 9 and 23 months after suspension (in 2014 and 2015, respectively). We examined the 'time-dependent change' of the 'intention of mothers to inoculate their daughters with the HPV vaccine' in terms of efficacy of external decision-making support. 17.5% of mothers in the first survey replied that they would inoculate their daughters under the current circumstances, 12.1% in the second survey, and 6.7% in the third, showing a consistent decrease in willingness over time (p = 0.03, p < 0.01). If the government recommendation were to be reintroduced, 22.5% of mothers in the first survey replied they would inoculate their daughters, 21.0% in the second survey, which indicated no significant difference (p = 0.65) over the first interval; however, this was significantly decreased to 12.2% in the third survey (p < 0.01). Our study revealed that the intention to inoculate their daughters has been declining among Japanese mothers over time triggered by the suspension.