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April 19, 2025
 

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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
LIFE
Aug 12, 2012
Professor aspires toward the perfect prosthetic design
"Functionality and aesthetics can co-exist."
LIFE
Aug 12, 2012
Japan's Paralympians overcome adversity by leaps, bounds and innovative design
When Oscar Pistorius made his dramatic debut in the men's 400-meter race in London last Saturday — becoming the first double amputee to compete alongside able-bodied athletes in Olympics history — some people might have wondered if the South African's artificial legs gave him a competitive edge over...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 10, 2012
Hello Kitty designer Yuko Yamaguchi shows off character's artistic side
Hello Kitty, the superstar feline character created by Sanrio Co. 38 years ago, has gained fans across generations, with products featuring her likeness selling in 109 countries. The Hello Kitty Art Exhibition, which started Thursday in Osaka, tries to explain the secret of its appeal through the eyes...
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 5, 2012
Restoration of temple 'harder than building it'
The year was 1735, and on the plains of Menuma in present-day Saitama Prefecture, master builder Hayashi Masakiyo was going from village to village assembling a group of top-class carpenters, engravers, painters and other artisans.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Aug 5, 2012
David Atkinson: Ancient Japan captures money man's interest
David Atkinson was still in his 20s when he rose to fame as a Japan-based banking analyst with the U.S. investment bank Salomon Brothers, prior to him moving to Goldman Sachs.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 27, 2012
Sisi stars in new exhibition
More than a century after her death, Austria's Empress Elisabeth (1837-1898) has built a big fan base in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 22, 2012
Power spots and prehistory in beautiful Aomori Prefecture
The government of Aomori Prefecture which straddles the whole of the northern end of Japan's main island of Honshu — and is best known as the nation's apple capital — broke new ground in its tourism promotion campaign late last year, when it announced it would start selling the prefecture as the...
LIFE
Jul 1, 2012
Disabled women speak out on discrimination
Being a woman in Japan often comes with a variety of challenges, but when you are a woman with disabilities here, the scale of hardships you must endure can be overwhelming.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 21, 2012
Music industry wins a battle as antidownloading bill gets some teeth
A bill aimed at penalizing Internet users for downloading pirated music and video files passed the Diet on Wednesday, despite criticism from some Internet personalities and legal experts that the move is hasty and too harsh.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 8, 2012
'Doraemon' bully Gian to get a party
Fujiko F. Fujio Museum in Kawasaki, which is dedicated to the late creator of the "Doraemon" manga series, is celebrating the birthday of that series' "bully" character, Gian, on June 15.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 29, 2012
Japan's house of the rising sun
What will our lifestyles be like in the future? An international group of students at Chiba University plan to explore the possibilities with their proposal for a next-generation solar house, a futuristic mix of new technology and traditional ways of life in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 27, 2012
Junko Tabei : The first woman atop the world
Almost exactly 37 years ago, on the morning of May 16, 1975, then 35-year-old Junko Tabei and her Sherpa guide Ang Tshering reached the 8,763-meter South Summit of Mount Everest — their final halt before pushing on to the 8,848-meter peak itself.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 22, 2012
Canteens put employees' health on the menu
Until just a few years ago, shashoku — short for shain shokudō (company canteens) — were sources of convenience food, where meals was gulped down, not chewed and savored, and where the offerings were cheap but bland.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 18, 2012
Dancer to honor late artist who balked at death
Shusaku Arakawa (1936-2010) was an enigmatic man. The late Japan-born, New York-based artist and his partner, Madeline Gins, once jointly declared they had decided "not to die," and even added that it was "immoral" for people to have to die. Based on their philosophy, the two created a series of houses...
Japan Times
Features
Apr 29, 2012
Konami staffer's victory not a game-changer
There is no shortage of laws in Japan stating that working women should be given the same employment protection and rights as their male counterparts.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 20, 2012
Actress Mizukawa tackles 'violent, turbulent' character
Despite being holed up in a Tokyo hotel room for a press junket, 28-year-old actress Asami Mizukawa is surprisingly upbeat. However, she gives an unusual response when asked about the new TV mini-series she is starring in.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 17, 2012
Medicinal direction from both the East and West
Once shunned as outdated and unproven, kanpō (Chinese herbal therapy) is currently making a vibrant comeback in Japan.
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Apr 15, 2012
U.S. forces keep the world in their sights
Complex issues often become much easier to understand when they are approached with the benefit of a broader perspective.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 13, 2012
Big in Taiwan: Island singer Atari makes his own Taipei exchange
Ever since his major debut in 2006, singer Kousuke Atari — known for his masterful fusion of shima-uta (folk songs native to Amami Oshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture) with J-pop — has done remarkably well outside Japan, particularly in mainland China and Taiwan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Apr 1, 2012
Naohiko Jinno: Master of public finance brings life to numbers
Born the grandson of a once-prosperous textile manufacturer in Urawa, Saitama Prefecture, Naohiko Jinno says that when he was growing up he was told by his mother, over and over again, that money was not important.
In a first, Japan issues cease-and-desist order against Google
The Google logo is seen at the company's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California. Japanese authorities on Tuesday issued a cease-and-desist order to Google over an alleged violation of the country's anti-monopoly law.
Tokyo hotel operators face possible warnings over suspected price cartel
Foreign tourists gather on a platform at Kyoto Station on Wednesday.
Japan and the U.S. begin tariff talks on good terms, but without breakthroughs
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, speaks to reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
Magnitude 5.0 earthquake jolts Nagano
A map showing the location of an earthquake that hit Nagano Prefecture on Friday evening, with the numbers indicating the seismic intensity on the shindo scale to 7.
Parts of Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines to be suspended over weekend
Sections of the outer loop of Tokyo's Yamanote Line and the Keihin-Tohoku Line will be shut down all day Saturday, and from the start of service through around noon on Sunday.
Nothing sells like Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s marketing megastar
People walk past an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani outside Tokyo Dome on March 18.
Tokyo stock picker advises Trump-proofing portfolios with Godzilla-creator Toho
The head of Godzilla, a Japanese monster movie character, is seen on a building of Toho Cinema in Tokyo. Toho is one tariff-defensive stock being recommended by brokers.
LDP and CDP lawmaker groups propose 0% consumption tax on food
A vegetable stand displays prices at a supermarket in Tokyo in 2023. Some lawmakers are proposing lowering the consumption tax on food to 0%, which is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.
Tokyo hotel operators face possible warnings over suspected price cartel
Foreign tourists gather on a platform at Kyoto Station on Wednesday.
Kyotographie 2025 opts for laughter and levity in the face of global strife
Palestinian American photographer Adam Rouhana’s exhibition at this year’s Kyotographie festival shows Palestinian life, not death and rubble.

Podcast

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

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

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