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November 22, 2024
 

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Tomoko Otake

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Tomoko Otake
Tomoko Otake is a senior writer with a strong interest in health, medical and social issues. A native of Nara Prefecture, she obtained an M.A. in journalism from The University of Montana.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 29, 2016
Competing interests converge on health care price-setting panel
On Feb. 10, as hundreds of people in business attire watched from the gallery, a panel of experts under the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry adopted a long list of proposals to revise the fees that can be charged by the nation's hospitals and pharmacies for medical procedures and prescriptions under...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 26, 2016
The facts behind Zika in Japan
Confirmation of Japan's first Zika infection since an outbreak erupted in Latin America last year has elevated concern about the disease.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 22, 2016
Tokyo lawmaker says being gay is matter of 'personal taste,' does not merit taxpayer support
A member of the Suginami Municipal Assembly in Tokyo is drawing flak from the LGBT community for saying gay, lesbian and bisexual people refer to themselves so out of “personal taste” and thus are not worthy of support by municipal governments.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 19, 2016
Japanese team finds new way to create, research Parkinson's stem cells
Researchers from Juntendo and Keio universities have come up with a quicker and easier way to generate iPS cells from people with Parkinson's disease, a discovery they claim will go a long way in developing a cure for the neurological disease.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 17, 2016
How Japan is tweaking the cost of health care
The price of health care is changing.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2016
Tokyo's Ota Ward approves first short-term, Airbnb-style home rentals
An online travel service provider gets government accreditation to start renting out private homes on the model popularized by Airbnb.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2016
Ministry tests smartphone app to navigate underground stations
The land ministry on Thursday started testing a smartphone app that provides detailed navigation services in underground areas around Tokyo Station.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 3, 2016
Exhibition showcases quest to pair patients with novel search for cure
People with obscure, degenerative nerve disorders with no known cures. A biologist exploring the use of fruit flies as an alternative to mice to test drug compounds. A designer who makes his own laser cutter. All of them have collaborated for a unique exhibition that could one day change the way new...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 1, 2016
Japanese team invents movable tongue prosthesis to enable speech for cancer victims
Dentistry researchers at Okayama University have come up with what could be the world's first movable tongue prosthesis to help oral cancer patients who have partially lost the ability to speak.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2016
Obokata breaks silence, suggests colleague bears blame for STAP debacle
A former star scientist with the Riken research institute who was accused of fraud in 2014 tells her side of the story.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2016
Toshima Ward survey finds a fifth of residents willing to be resettled in Saitama
The Tokyo ward is accelerating moves to promote the resettlement of healthy seniors in Chichibu, where plans to create a retirement community are underway.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2016
Minato Ward to protect few remaining views of Tokyo Tower
The area that houses the Tokyo Tower takes steps to ensure that high-rises do not obliterate the few remaining views of it.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2016
Visitors to Japan surge to record 19.73 million, spend all-time high ¥3.48 trillion
A record 19.73 million people visited Japan in 2015, marking the first time in 45 years that the number of incoming travelers surpassed the outbound figure.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2016
Japan's labor ministry to investigate why 2 million workers are on wrong pension program
The labor minister pledges to look into why around 2 million firm employees are members of a pension program for the self-employed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2016
Japan revamps map symbols that baffle tourists
The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) has released a set of new standard symbols for foreign-language maps after criticism that some of its current pictograms are hard to understand or are even offensive.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2016
Bad management to blame for Yokohama piling scandal, interim report says
A third-party panel probing the Asahi Kasei Construction Materials piling scandal concludes sloppy management encouraged data manipulation but avoids stating whether workers engaged in a coverup.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2016
'Zainichi' Koreans say North Korean nuclear test may fuel discrimination in Japan
Korean residents in Japan expressed anger and disappointment at North Korea, saying its test could fuel anti-Korean sentiment.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES
Jan 3, 2016
Options available to mitigate dangers of living alone with dementia
At first glance, it's hard to tell what's wrong with Keiko Sawada. As casual exchanges continue, however, it becomes increasingly clear the former bar hostess has serious memory problems.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 23, 2015
Tattooist's legal challenge could lift industry in Japan or send it underground
Tattooist Taiki Masuda is challenging a law that makes him a criminal for practicing what he considers a form of art.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 21, 2015
Joso disaster prompts ministry rethink of flood control, prediction policies
On Dec. 11, the land ministry released a new policy vision for dealing with floods in response to September's typhoon-triggered breach of the Kinugawa River, which inundated residential areas of Joso, Ibaraki Prefecture, stranding thousands for hours, and some for days.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ex-yokozuna Kitanofuji dies at 82
Yokozuna Kitanofuji enters the ring during the May 1970 grand sumo tournament in Tokyo.
Man charged with murder allegedly made victim date other men for money
A car carrying suspect Ryotaro Masuda, who was indicted for allegedly beating his 25-year-old girlfriend to death, leaves the Shibuya Police Station in Tokyo on Thursday.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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