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April 04, 2025
 

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Tomoko Otake

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@Tomoko_Otake

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
May 24, 2017
Japanese residents of Manchester shaken by terrorist attack
Japanese residents in Manchester, England, expressed shock that the deadly terrorist attack at a concert hall took place in a city known for welcoming different cultures.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / A MATTER OF HEALTH
May 24, 2017
Experts say Japan should examine male infertility amid falling birthrate
In mid-December, when news emerged that the number of newborn babies in Japan in 2016 would likely fall below 1 million for the first time since the government started collecting data in 1899, it sparked a renewed debate on how to reverse the downtrend in the fertility rate.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 17, 2017
Continuing streak, Japan leads world in life expectancy, WHO report says
People in Japan continue to outlive those in other countries, marking the world's longest average life expectancy of 83.7 years, according to the latest World Health Organization report released Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / A MATTER OF HEALTH
May 17, 2017
Looking beyond abstinence, Kanagawa facility opens Japan's first 'controlled drinking' program
Have a drinking problem? Don't worry, you can keep drinking while working to get over it.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 15, 2017
Medical big data to be pooled for disease research and drug development in Japan
Last month a bill aimed at facilitating medical research through the use of patient records stored at medical institutions cleared the Diet.
JAPAN / Society
May 11, 2017
Labor ministry names and shames businesses that exploit workers despite warnings
In a first, the labor ministry publishes the names of 334 “black companies” warned about excessive overtime or other violations online, including Dentsu, Panasonic and Japan Post.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / A MATTER OF HEALTH
May 10, 2017
Yamagata town to test using dogs to detect cancers
Dogs are not only loving companions. They could also be our most reliable weapon against cancer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 5, 2017
Professor examines Lolita complex by first looking at his own experience
Lolita complex, the sexual attraction to young, pubescent girls, is woven into the fabric of everyday life in Japan. Turn on the TV and you'll see group after group of scantily-clad teenage and preteen girls singing or dancing to music. Peek in any bookstore and you'll find a section of photo books featuring...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / A MATTER OF HEALTH
May 3, 2017
Developer taps power of design to create dementia-friendly housing in Setagaya
Despite all the talk about the swelling ranks of people with dementia in Japan and what to do with them, there has been little discussion so far about housing designs that meet their needs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / A MATTER OF HEALTH
Apr 26, 2017
Todai-linked venture developing technology for speedy home flu test
Every winter, people running a fever and complaining of muscle pain swarm the nation's clinics, suspecting one thing: the flu.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / A MATTER OF HEALTH
Apr 19, 2017
Language barriers at Japanese medical institutions put foreign patients at risk: expert
Here's a little-known, unnerving truth about health care in Japan: for non-Japanese, the death rate is higher than that for Japanese.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2017
JAL and ANA say overbooking violence would never happen in Japan
The violent video of a passenger being forcibly removed from an overbooked United Airlines flight on Sunday has gone viral around the world, including in Japan, sparking outcry and concern that a similar incident could happen here.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / A MATTER OF HEALTH
Apr 12, 2017
Tottori venture touts simulated patient for budding medical professionals
It looks and feels like a real person. It can cough, has a gag reflex and will even cry “ouch!” if handled roughly.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Apr 10, 2017
Japan's population projected to plunge to 88 million by 2065
The population of Japan is expected to plunge to 88.08 million in 2065, a roughly 30 percent fall from the 2015 level, according to a government-affiliated research institute.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Apr 10, 2017
Robotics whiz envisions prosthetic limbs for all
A high school teacher in a black coat enters the classroom. "Good morning," he says to the students before starting his lecture, with his right hand busily scribbling something on a blackboard and his left holding a physics textbook.
JAPAN / Science & Health / A MATTER OF HEALTH
Apr 5, 2017
When it comes to health info, online 'fake news' can have serious repercussions
A recent "fake news" scandal involving IT giant DeNA Co. shows how quickly bogus health information can make the rounds online.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 29, 2017
Families of 'karoshi' victims lambaste overtime cap recommendations as legalizing unhealthy working hours
Families of people who have died from overwork blasted a report adopted Tuesday by a government labor reform panel, saying its call for creating a monthly overtime cap of 100 hours could effectively legalize long working hours at the expense of workers' health.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Mar 24, 2017
Entrepreneurs use their diseases as springboard for business success
Despite calls for diversity in the workplace and "work-style reforms" being debated in the government, Japan has yet to come up with a way to fully utilize the talent of all who wish to work, especially those with rare and incurable diseases.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 24, 2017
Kyoto University professor does the math and finds that sperm swim to a beat
We know that the upshot of sex between a man and a woman is more than 50 million sperm racing to reach one egg, though exactly how sperm swim through a woman’s body and how just one survives the journey to fertilize an egg is full of mystery.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2017
Huge number of articles on DeNA info websites found to have plagiarism, copyright issues
A three-month probe uncovers problems with around 20,000 articles uploaded on 10 health and lifestyle information websites run by DeNA Co.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
U.S. tourist arrested after bringing a handgun into Japan
Hyogo police believe the handgun a U.S. tourist inadvertently brought into Japan slipped through security procedures at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%
Trump tosses a MAGA hat to the crowd during an event in which he unveiled new tariffs in the White House on Wednesday.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
Japan’s leader didn’t read the job description
Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is facing a political funding scandal that has damaged his reputation and sparked speculation that internal efforts to remove him are underway.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
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