Hospitals aiming to support long-stay child patients

Hospitals aiming to support long-stay child patients

TOKYO, Japan, Dec. 18 Kyodo - Nursery teacher Mayako Watanabe (L) and child life specialist Miki Saito explain on Nov. 1, 2017, a kids room being opened in the pediatrics department of the National Center for Global Health and Medicine's hospital in Tokyo. The round 64-square-meter room, named Waku Waku no Mori (forest of thrills), is intended to help long-stay child patients acquire age-appropriate social skills and receive necessary education.

Hospitals aiming to support long-stay child patients

Hospitals aiming to support long-stay child patients

TOKYO, Japan, Dec. 18 Kyodo - Children with serious illnesses play in a kids room at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine's hospital in Tokyo on Nov. 10, 2017. The Waku Waku no Mori (forest of thrills) playroom was opened in the hospital's pediatrics department the same day to help long-stay child patients acquire age-appropriate social skills and receive necessary education.

Hospitals aiming to support long-stay child patients

Hospitals aiming to support long-stay child patients

Nursery teacher Mayako Watanabe (L) and child life specialist Miki Saito explain on Nov. 1, 2017, a kids room being opened in the pediatrics department of the National Center for Global Health and Medicine's hospital in Tokyo. The round 64-square-meter room, named Waku Waku no Mori (forest of thrills), is intended to help long-stay child patients acquire age-appropriate social skills and receive necessary education. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Hospitals aiming to support long-stay child patients

Hospitals aiming to support long-stay child patients

Children with serious illnesses play in a kids room at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine's hospital in Tokyo on Nov. 10, 2017. The Waku Waku no Mori (forest of thrills) playroom was opened in the hospital's pediatrics department the same day to help long-stay child patients acquire age-appropriate social skills and receive necessary education. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Former sailor recalls drifting in waters off Philippines during WWII

Former sailor recalls drifting in waters off Philippines during WWII

Yoshiaki Waku, a former Imperial Japanese Navy sailor, recounts his experience of drifting in waters off the Philippines during World War II in an interview at his home in Nasukarasuyama, Tochigi Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, as seen in this photo taken on March 6, 2015. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo