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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
Dec 9, 2016
Aerial photos capture dark side of solar power plants
Koichiro Otaki started taking aerial pictures of photovoltaic power stations in April 2015. At first, it was an innocent desire to capture their sheer scale and aesthetic value that motivated him, he says.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2016
Soseki android unveiled to rekindle interest in late author
"Hello. Excuse me for remaining seated. It's been nearly 100 years, hasn't it?"
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 5, 2016
Both pressure and perks used to coax seniors into giving up driving licenses
These days have seen frequent news reports of elderly drivers losing control of their vehicles, slamming into stores, running over pedestrians and traveling in the wrong direction on expressways.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 1, 2016
Shady work practices earn nominations for Black Company Award
Ad giant Dentsu Inc. and courier company Sagawa Express Co., where employees committed suicide, were among this year's nominees.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2016
Japan government panel halves price of cancer drug Opdivo
In an unprecedented move, the official price of the drug is slashed amid fears that widespread use could drain state coffers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2016
President Trump: Japanese-Americans, Japanese in U.S. weigh in
People of Japanese ancestry speak up about their impressions of President-elect Donald Trump.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2016
Record 5,803 foreign trainees went missing in Japan last year
Observers say this is another sign that the technical intern program — long criticized by rights groups at home and abroad as akin to slavery — is seriously flawed.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2016
Tokyu Corp. attracts backlash with 'makeup etiquette' video
The Japanese-language video starts with a provocative line: “Women in the city are all beautiful. But they are ugly to see, at times.”
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2016
Is the party over? Spending by overseas visitors drops for first time in 19 quarters
Figures show foreign tourists spent u00a5971.7 billion from July to September period, down 2.9 percent from the same time last year.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2016
Tokyo residents' petition prompts reconsideration of plan to fell trees
Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward will reconsider plans to cut down 37 trees lining a street ahead of the 2020 Olympics, officials said Wednesday, after local residents blasted the plan in a petition.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2016
Plan to cut down historic trees in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward faces local opposition
Plans to cut down 300 ginkgo and platanus trees in central Tokyo ahead of the 2020 Olympics sparks an online opposition campaign seeking to prevent them from being felled.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 12, 2016
Todai biomedical research fraud probe seen pointing to wider misconduct
The so-called STAP scandal of 2014 unleashed the power of anonymous online whistleblowers, who exposed falsified data in what had been hailed as groundbreaking stem cell research by the Riken institute and brought down its star scientist, Haruko Obokata.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 12, 2016
In setback for female empowerment, Tokyo court rejects teacher's bid to use maiden name at work
The Tokyo District Court dismisses a case by a recently married woman on the grounds that the practice is not customary.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 11, 2016
Shiseido app adds makeup to faces on video conferences
In a potential boost for the government's drive to get more people telecommuting, cosmetics company Shiseido Co. has developed an app that makes users look as if they are wearing makeup. It amounts to an instant makeover for the unfortunate worker called to appear on screen from home at an awkward hour....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2016
1 in 4 firms in Japan say workers log over 80 overtime hours a month
The nation's first white paper on “karoshi” finds nearly a quarter of companies have employees that are seriously overworked.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 27, 2016
Amid charges of sexism, city in Kyushu pulls video promoting local eels
A promotional YouTube video made by the city of Shibushi, Kagoshima Prefecture, featuring a young woman in a swimsuit who morphs into an eel has been pulled following a public outcry that it was sexist.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 26, 2016
Plan to fix day care crunch belies decades of pent-up demand
The shortage of day care facilities is a long-standing issue in Japan, where the ranks of working mothers keep swelling, both out of choice and necessity.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 14, 2016
Expensive drugs threaten to sink Japan's health care system
An aging population is not the only cause of headache for policymakers trying to keep the nation's medical costs down — now they have "superexpensive" drugs to deal with.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 10, 2016
Is Japan waking up to the menace of stalking?
Health professionals are trying to be more proactive in rehabilitating stalkers before their actions escalate to something more sinister.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 25, 2016
Infant deaths underscore accountability gaps in Japan's nurseries
When Yuki Kai went to pick up her 14-month-old son, Kento, from a nursery in Tokyo after his nap time, she found him dead.
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
By Johan Brooks

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