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July 16, 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
CULTURE / Music
Nov 26, 2013
Inhyeok Yeo finds fans on YouTube, but seeks glory at the Grammys
Armed with a good ear, a good voice and self-marketing tips that he picked up at school, singer Inhyeok Yeo is aiming for a Grammy. What sets him apart from Adele, Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars, though, is that he sings a cappella cover versions of pop songs — performing all the instruments with...
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2013
Tokyo-area teachers of English face three-month honing home-stay abroad
The Tokyo Board of Education is planning to require that all young English teachers at its junior and high schools study and live in English-speaking countries for three months.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 14, 2013
Japan economy grows for fourth straight quarter but at slower 1.9%
The economy grew an annualized 1.9 percent in the July-September period, marking a fourth consecutive quarter of growth but sharply down from the previous quarter as consumption slowed and exports fell, casting a cloud over "Abenomics."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2013
Mizuho has more loans to the mob
Mizuho Bank has outstanding loans to yakuza and other antisocial elements apart from car loans extended through its affiliate credit company, Orient Corp., President Yau00adsuu00adhiu00adro Sau00adto tells the Diet.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2013
Cheep shot: Mascot Totto-chan's lewd radio comments may be its last chirps
While the craze over regional mascots continues, recent mishaps involving some characters shows not everything is rosy in the "yuru-kyara" (soft character) industry.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2013
Kinki University fish lab opening Ginza eatery
A fisheries research lab at Kinki University in Wakayama Prefecture is poised to make a smashing debut in the heart of Japan's gourmet capital: Ginza.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Oct 29, 2013
Shady loans have long history; laws slow to catch up
Mizuho Bank's loans to yakuza and other shady individuals through its group credit company Orient Corp. may be just the tip of the iceberg as corporate Japan struggles to break off its long-held ties with organized crime.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 28, 2013
Mizuho offers denials as heads roll over mob loans
Mizuho Bank announces it will punish 54 present and former executives for lending money to organized crime groups but denies it colluded with yakuza.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2013
Tax hike may induce firms to use more temp workers
In what could be an unintended consequence, the sales tax hike set for next April may tempt companies to replace their regular workers with "haken" temporary workers, some tax law experts say.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2013
Role of media groups to 'contextualize' info
Given the faster, increasingly digital and polarized ways news is disseminated around the world, the role of trusted news organizations is to "contexualize" the bits of information people pick up in various different media, Andrew Ross Sorkin, a financial columnist for The New York Times, said Wednesday...
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Oct 20, 2013
Whether Tepco fails or not, it's taxpayers' tab
The final tab from the meltdowns at Tepco's Fukushima No. 1 plant will be huge, and the public will end up paying it, either through taxes or utility bills.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2013
Job hunt stressing students, making them suicidal: poll
Tormented by the difficulty of landing a position and unfair practices by prospective employers, 1 in 5 college students contemplate suicide during the job-hunting process, a poll of 122 students finds.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2013
Japanese firm's mascot name earns ridicule
Osaka-based Fukushima Industries Corp. apologizes for the uproar over Fukuppy, its latest corporate mascot, and admits it may change the name or at least the spelling in Roman characters.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 15, 2013
Tax-free account seeks to spur investment
...
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2013
Medical experts seek to dial back over-prescription for schizophrenia
Doctors in Japan have long prescribed a cocktail of several types of drugs to people with mental illnesses, often leading to various side effects.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 5, 2013
Mizuho admits four execs knew of yakuza loans
Mizuho Bank has admitted that at least four of its executives, including two former deputy presidents, knew that it was lending money to underworld and other "antisocial" groups and that it neither stopped nor sought to hold management responsible.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 3, 2013
Ebizo rethinks kabuki's strategy
In the glitzy and gossipy world of Japanese celebrity, hardly a week goes by without revelations being made about — or made by — Ichikawa Ebizo XI.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 3, 2013
German band to feature at Oktoberfest
In Japan, Oktoberfest tends to be a year-round celebration. Beer companies here will hold the traditional German party whenever they feel like a break. This month (or maybe we should say, this week) it's Yokohama's turn.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Oct 2, 2013
Households to take hit from tax hike
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people's financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2013
IT startup barters its way into niche
At around noon on a recent weekday, the Roppongi branch of Shamrock by Abbot Choice, a Tokyo-based Irish-style pub chain, had a bustling lunchtime crowd.
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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