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April 07, 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
Jun 18, 2015
Tourism body to poll spas on no-tattoo policy amid influx of foreign visitors with body art
The Japan Tourism Agency has begun surveying hot springs nationwide on their no-tattoo policies, as Japan sees more foreign visitors sporting body art.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 16, 2015
Consumer groups skeptical of health claims from new food labels
The first batch of products with new "functional food" labels will hit stores nationwide this week, amid controversy over regulatory policy that critics say is too lax.
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2015
NHK filter gives viewers 'legal' way to avoid Japan's TV tax
An engineering professor at Tsukuba University says his device for TVs that filters out NHK's signal provides a legal basis for not paying subscription fees to to the public broadcaster.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 2, 2015
Japan Pension Service hack used classic attack method
The massive leak last month of personal data from the Japan Pension Service was the result of a simple error by its employees: opening a virus-laced email attachment disguised as a health ministry document.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 2, 2015
Some experts doubt shift to generic drugs is best prescription for health care system
In a desperate bid to stem the rise in health care costs, the government is reining in one of its biggest medical outlays: prescription drugs.
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 / 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
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
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 / 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 / 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.
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.
‘Let’s make it practical’: NATO chief eyes greater defense-industrial ties with Japan
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte plans to visit Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday — his first to the Indo-Pacific region since taking office in October, as he seeks to implement lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine.
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.

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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