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April 06, 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 / Society / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Apr 17, 2016
Baby sitter option gains little traction amid parental reluctance
Nearly half of parents in Japan who responded to a recent survey by The Japan Times have considered using baby sitters but have not done so, with many citing lack of know-how on finding the right sitters as well as financial constraints.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 12, 2016
Massive whole-genome study finds six types of liver cancer
In the largest genomic study ever targeting single-organ cancers, Japanese researchers have completed a whole-genome analysis of 300 liver cancer patients, discovering that liver cancer among Japanese can be broken down into six types.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Apr 6, 2016
Osaka Prefecture city works with FamilyMart to cover up adult magazines
Adult magazines at FamilyMart stores in the city of Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, are being covered up in line with a program to protect the young from sexually explicit materials, a move that has drawn protests from the publishing industry.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 6, 2016
Japanese researchers to test new weapon on unbeatable cancers
The National Cancer Center in Tokyo has unveiled a new weapon to treat cancers long considered unbeatable: neutrons that attack cancer cells only.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2016
Nara to allow some deer to be culled under new management policy
Wild deer in the city of Nara have long been loved by tourists and locals alike, and have been protected and cared for under law. Some 1,200 deer inhabit Nara Park, pleasing visitors with their mostly harmless, tame nature.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 29, 2016
Competing interests converge on health care price-setting panel
On Feb. 10, as hundreds of people in business attire watched from the gallery, a panel of experts under the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry adopted a long list of proposals to revise the fees that can be charged by the nation's hospitals and pharmacies for medical procedures and prescriptions under...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 26, 2016
The facts behind Zika in Japan
Confirmation of Japan's first Zika infection since an outbreak erupted in Latin America last year has elevated concern about the disease.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 22, 2016
Tokyo lawmaker says being gay is matter of 'personal taste,' does not merit taxpayer support
A member of the Suginami Municipal Assembly in Tokyo is drawing flak from the LGBT community for saying gay, lesbian and bisexual people refer to themselves so out of “personal taste” and thus are not worthy of support by municipal governments.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 19, 2016
Japanese team finds new way to create, research Parkinson's stem cells
Researchers from Juntendo and Keio universities have come up with a quicker and easier way to generate iPS cells from people with Parkinson's disease, a discovery they claim will go a long way in developing a cure for the neurological disease.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 17, 2016
How Japan is tweaking the cost of health care
The price of health care is changing.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2016
Tokyo's Ota Ward approves first short-term, Airbnb-style home rentals
An online travel service provider gets government accreditation to start renting out private homes on the model popularized by Airbnb.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2016
Ministry tests smartphone app to navigate underground stations
The land ministry on Thursday started testing a smartphone app that provides detailed navigation services in underground areas around Tokyo Station.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 3, 2016
Exhibition showcases quest to pair patients with novel search for cure
People with obscure, degenerative nerve disorders with no known cures. A biologist exploring the use of fruit flies as an alternative to mice to test drug compounds. A designer who makes his own laser cutter. All of them have collaborated for a unique exhibition that could one day change the way new...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 1, 2016
Japanese team invents movable tongue prosthesis to enable speech for cancer victims
Dentistry researchers at Okayama University have come up with what could be the world's first movable tongue prosthesis to help oral cancer patients who have partially lost the ability to speak.
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2016
Obokata breaks silence, suggests colleague bears blame for STAP debacle
A former star scientist with the Riken research institute who was accused of fraud in 2014 tells her side of the story.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2016
Toshima Ward survey finds a fifth of residents willing to be resettled in Saitama
The Tokyo ward is accelerating moves to promote the resettlement of healthy seniors in Chichibu, where plans to create a retirement community are underway.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2016
Minato Ward to protect few remaining views of Tokyo Tower
The area that houses the Tokyo Tower takes steps to ensure that high-rises do not obliterate the few remaining views of it.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2016
Visitors to Japan surge to record 19.73 million, spend all-time high ¥3.48 trillion
A record 19.73 million people visited Japan in 2015, marking the first time in 45 years that the number of incoming travelers surpassed the outbound figure.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2016
Japan's labor ministry to investigate why 2 million workers are on wrong pension program
The labor minister pledges to look into why around 2 million firm employees are members of a pension program for the self-employed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2016
Japan revamps map symbols that baffle tourists
The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) has released a set of new standard symbols for foreign-language maps after criticism that some of its current pictograms are hard to understand or are even offensive.
3D printer used to construct train station building in Japan
A train station building (front) is assembled from parts printed using 3D printer technology, in Arida, Wakayama Prefecture, on Wednesday.
Nissan says it will not take new U.S. orders for Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs
A Nissan manufacturing complex in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Nissan says it will not take new orders from the United States for two Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs following new auto tariffs levied by the U.S.
Japan digs deep to address 'national crisis' caused by Trump tariffs
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on April 1. He has said that Japan is facing a "national crisis" following the introduction of new tariffs by the United States.
Tokyo’s KK Line to close for decadelong overhaul as public greenway
People enjoy running and yoga on Tokyo Expressway’s KK Line, a 2-kilometer elevated expressway cutting through the capital’s commercial Ginza district, when it was opened as a pedestrian space in May last year.
Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
Tottori takes a bold leap forward in the arts
The city of Kurayoshi in Tottori Prefecture celebrated the opening of its public art museum with festivities such as a parade that drew 1,000 revelers.
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.
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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