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November 22, 2024
 

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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
Jun 1, 2015
1.25 million affected by Japan Pension Service hack
The nation's pension system has been hacked, with more than a million cases of personal data leaked in an embarrassment that revives memories of a scandal that helped topple Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in his first term in office.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 25, 2015
With hate speech bill, Osaka grapples with freedom of expression
The Osaka Municipal Government has proposed an ordinance aimed at curbing hate speech against racial and ethnic minorities in the city, where verbal and other attacks against Korean residents have intensified in recent years.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 21, 2015
Japan losing cancer battle on smoking, screenings front
The central government will probably miss its goal of lowering the cancer mortality rate by 20 percent over 10 years, the National Cancer Center says.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 20, 2015
Japan aquariums vote to stop using dolphins from Taiji
The Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums announced Wednesday that it will ban its members from buying dolphins caught off the town of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, amid protests from activists and pressure from a global industry body to stop the practice.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 19, 2015
Consumer rights group hits Rizap fitness chain over 'exaggerated' ad
A Kobe-based consumer rights group demands that the fast-growing Rizap fitness training chain remove the '30-day money-back guarantee' from its ads, saying the fine print states that refunds are made only when the company 'approves them.'
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 13, 2015
Japan zoo body polls members on use of Taiji dolphins
The Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums is asking zoos and aquariums across the country to vote on the continued procurement of dolphins from the town of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, whose dolphin hunts and annual culls have riled activists worldwide.
JAPAN
May 10, 2015
Japan Today says it will retain foreign perspective despite acquisition by conglomerate Fuji Media
Recently acquired Japan Today will stick to its motto of presenting news 'through the perspectives of foreigners,' the Fuji Media Holdings group says.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 4, 2015
18 looms as new age of majority
Japan's youth will finally get a chance to have their voices heard in politics.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 1, 2015
Cartoon poop-logging apps aim to guard against cancer
Cutesy, busty female characters in miniskirts and maid costumes are regular fixtures of Japanese anime and manga, but a doctor in Tokyo is trying to use their universal appeal to educate people on what they rarely talk about in public: poop.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 27, 2015
Unified elections help diversify representation in Tokyo
Liberal Democratic Party-backed candidates lose three of five key mayoral races in the final wave of unified elections as voter turnout sinks to another record low.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 21, 2015
Taco Bell returns to Japan with launch of Shibuya outlet
What's the same: that iconic bell sign, friendly and casual staff, and a range of crunchy and soft tacos and burritos.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Apr 19, 2015
For foreign caregivers, role remains ambiguous
Does Japan really want to accept foreign caregivers?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2015
Hotel group inks trial covering bathers' tattoos with stickers
The no-tattoos policy at many of Japan's public bathhouses might become a thing of the past if one hotel group's experiment with stickers to cover guests' body art gains traction.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 10, 2015
Okinawa activists establish fund to fight Futenma base move
Money matters in politics. This is something Okinawans locking horns with the central government over the plan to relocate U.S. Marine Corp Air Station Futenma seem to have cottoned on to, setting up a private-sector fund to promote their anti-base cause.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2015
Sandwiched between Yokota, Narita airspace, ever-busy Haneda looks to route some flights over metropolis
Faced with an urgent need to expand the capacity of Haneda airport ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the government is planning to break a longtime taboo: routing flights low over densely populated residential areas of the capital and its suburbs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 13, 2015
Math enthusiasts to mark once-in-a-century Pi Day
Saturday marks Pi Day, the day to commemorate the mathematical concept of pi — which refers to the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. Many math scientists and students around the world celebrate pi every March 14, as its first three digits are 3, 1 and 4.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 17, 2015
Voiceless minority: People lacking family registry live on the outside, buried in red tape
Osaka native Haruko Kubota has waged a lifelong struggle to be "certified" as a living resident.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2015
Conflict-zone scribes fear fallout from intrepid journalist's death
The tragic death of Kenji Goto highlights a dilemma that the journalism community in Japan has long struggled with: how much of a risk reporters should take on when working in dangerous conflict zones.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2015
Journalists criticize Abe's response to hostage crisis
As the hostage drama continues over two Japanese held by the Islamic State group, journalists versed in Middle Eastern affairs are questioning how the Abe administration is handling the crisis.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2015
Respected journalist Goto aims to tell world of Syrians' suffering
Kenji Goto is among a rare breed of journalists who, while reporting from conflict-ridden Syria, has never regarded himself as a war reporter. Instead, he has tried to capture the voices of ordinary citizens whose fates have been irreversibly changed by war.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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