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April 04, 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
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 9, 2017
Patent authority rules against Nintendo, lets go-kart firm keep MariCar trademark
The Japan Patent Office in January dismissed an objection filed by Nintendo Co. over the MariCar trademark registered by a Tokyo-based go-kart service company, it was learned Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Mar 8, 2017
New guidelines tackle misuse of antibiotics amid rise of superbugs
Public health officials have begun tackling the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, as the prevalence of superbugs, or bacteria resistant to antibiotics, reaches alarming levels worldwide.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 27, 2017
Tax break for OTC drugs seeks to get Japanese managing their health, not swarming clinics
Buying medicine at a drugstore can now save you taxes.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 24, 2017
20% of Tokyo's children from impoverished households: survey
A fifth of the children in the capital are from households in dire financial straits struggling to survive, a survey finds.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2017
Japan's buckling health care system at a crossroads
U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to repeal “Obamacare” has left many people here wondering: How does Japan compare?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2017
Japan's health care system edges foreign care in expat survey
Just over half of non-Japanese residents feel Japan's health care system is generally better than that in their home countries, a trend particularly pronounced among U.S. citizens, with 3 out of 4 rating it more highly, an informal Japan Times survey has found.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2017
Japanese offer mixed views of foreign health care
Japanese people who have received medical care overseas have mixed views of other countries' health systems, according to an online straw poll conducted by The Japan Times.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 7, 2017
U.S. patients could end up paying the price if travel ban bars foreign doctors, Japanese researcher says
U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban for citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries could end up impairing the health of Americans, according to a new study led by a Harvard University-based Japanese researcher.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 3, 2017
Schools close, hospitals swell as influenza spikes
Japan sees a surge of 400,000 influenza cases in just one week as patients rush to get doctor's notes instead of resting.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 21, 2017
When pollen attacks! Experts reveal new approaches to combating hay fever
With the allergy season just around the corner, we examine the latest attempts to stem one of the country's most irritating problems.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2017
Apa takes flak from China over books in its inns denying Nanking Massacre
Major hotel chain operator Apa Group is facing fierce criticism after two students who stayed at one of its hotels in Tokyo posted a video about a book written by its CEO, which claims the 1937 Nanking Massacre committed by the Imperial Japanese Army was "fabricated by the Chinese side."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 12, 2017
Japanese city to use vein data to identify lost dementia sufferers
In a possible first for Japan, the city of Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, will start an experiment to register the vein data of elderly residents with dementia so they can be instantly identified if they wander off and are found without an ID.
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2017
Fukushima hospital finds temporary replacement after only doctor dies
A Fukushima hospital that suddenly found itself in crisis following the death last month of its only full-time doctor has found a temporary replacement for late director Hideo Takano.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2017
Number of foreign visitors to Japan tops 20 million mark for first time
The number of foreign visitors to Japan hit a whopping 24.03 million last year, but the growth rate has started to slow down.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 6, 2017
Death of doctor in Fukushima disaster zone hospital throws patients’ futures into question
The only hospital to brave Fukushima's radiation woes loses its only full-time doctor, throwing its patients' fates into doubt.
JAPAN / GEARING UP FOR THE GAMES
Jan 5, 2017
Advanced tech used by Paralympic athletes could throw perception of disabilities into question
On Dec. 10, some 40 elementary school children showed up for a running workshop at Shin-Toyosu Brillia Running Stadium, a brand new indoor track facility opened the day before in Tokyo's waterfront Toyosu district.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2016
Japanese dream of long year-end holiday but will settle for five days, and some sleep
A long, leisurely sojourn at a tropical beach resort, listening to the waves and counting seagulls ... is only a pipe dream for most workers in Japan as the New Year's holiday period draws near.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2016
Romance dance routine featuring Santa-clad Ambassador Kennedy an instant online hit
U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and other embassy staff across Japan made a splash on social media Tuesday by releasing a Christmassy, U.S. Embassy version of a koi (falling in love) dance routine aired in a popular Japanese TV drama series.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2016
Citizens petition Tokyo to save trees amid Ueno Park face-lift
As a planned face-lift for Tokyo's Ueno Park goes forward in preparation for the 2020 Olympics, residents are asking that the government refrain from cutting down decades-old trees.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2016
New running facility opens in Tokyo for athletes of all stripes
As the metropolis gears up to host the Olympics and Paralympics in four years’ time, a new running stadium opened in Tokyo on Friday. The private-sector facility will provide an inclusive training venue for athletes of all stripes.
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.
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.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.

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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