{
  "id": 12299867,
  "title": "As state funding stalls, medical researchers in Japan pivot to crowdfunding",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/as-state-funding-stalls-medical-researchers-in-japan-pivot-to",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-06T04:38:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Japan Times",
    "slug": "japan-times",
    "url": "https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/10/06/japan/science-health/madical-research-crowdfunding/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In Japan, medical researchers are increasingly turning to crowdfunding as government funding for scientific research remains stagnant. This shift has been driven by the rising costs of overseas research. Examples of life-saving or quality-of-life enhancing research that have resorted to crowdfunding include a long-term study on the effects of adding ultrasound to mammography for breast cancer screening and a smartphone app enabling individuals who have lost their voice to communicate using a recorded voice.",
  "summary": "Medical campaigns have surged, particularly since the pandemic, when the acute shortage of resources at some hospitals became widely known.",
  "key_points": [
    "Japanese medical research funding stagnant",
    "Researchers turn to crowdfunding",
    "Study on ultrasound in mammography funded via crowdfunding"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Stagnant government funding and rising overseas research costs are driving Japanese medical researchers to seek alternative funding sources, such as crowdfunding, to support life-saving and quality-of-life enhancing studies.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Japan Times",
        "title": "As state funding stalls, medical researchers in Japan pivot to crowdfunding",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/as-state-funding-stalls-medical-researchers-in-japan-pivot-to-12312871",
        "published": "2026-10-06T04:38:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}