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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 / 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
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.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / Q&A
Dec 9, 2014
'Right to be forgotten' on the Internet gains traction in Japan
The Internet has made fact-checking easy and people routinely use it for this end, for example, to Google client names and personal backgrounds before their first business meeting, or to take a quick glance at a potential new hire's reputation.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2014
Ruling denying welfare for foreign residents finds homegrown, biased support
The landmark Supreme Court ruling in July that found permanent residents of Japan legally ineligible for public assistance is already having an impact. Moves are afoot both at the national and local levels to try to scale back or remove welfare payments to foreign residents.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Sep 17, 2014
No use fighting the tide of online journalism, experts say
Major news organizations in Japan have been somewhat insulated from the seismic shift taking place in online journalism around the world. Helped by their still strong, if waning, presence in print, Japan's five national newspaper companies, each boasting millions of copies in daily circulation, have...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / DEALING WITH DEMENTIA
Jul 2, 2014
Dementia burden weighing on more families
Despite government efforts to improve the lives of people with dementia, the illness takes a heavy toll on patients and those who care for them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Jun 15, 2014
'Womenomics' push raises suspicions for lack of reality
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may be a political hawk who believes Japan can once again become a macho state that can hold its own against regional threats, but as he looks for money and muscle he is turning to an unlikely source: women.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 23, 2014
Duolingo chief shakes up language learning
While in his teens, growing up in a family running a candy factory in Guatemala, Luis von Ahn said he often fantasized about creating a gym anyone could join for free.
JAPAN
May 8, 2014
Riken stands behind STAP paper probe
The Riken institute states that it will not reopen its probe into the so-called STAP cell papers, leaving biologist Haruko Obokata guilty of research misconduct.
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Apr 20, 2014
'STAPgate' shows Japan must get back to basics in science
On Jan. 30, as NHK kicked off its evening news program with upbeat music, footage aired of a young woman with immaculately coiffed brown hair wearing pearl earrings and her trademark "kappogi," a Japanese-style white apron.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 11, 2014
Pain in the body may start in the mind
Good diagnosis takes persistent questioning and good analytical skills. It's a bit like a detective piecing together a puzzle from seemingly unrelated bits of information.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2014
Obokata says STAP cell discovery not fabrication, claims Riken dissuaded her from giving her side of story earlier
Apologetic but resolute in the face of intense international scrutiny of her stem cell research, Haruko Obokata stood by her claim Wednesday that she had discovered so-called STAP cells.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 1, 2014
Obokata falsified data in STAP papers: probe
A probe into possible “research misconduct” by the authors of two potentially revolutionary papers on pluripotent stem cells turns up two instances of deliberate falsification.
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2014
New tax rules to hit holders of overseas assets
Individuals with overseas assets worth more than ¥50 million must report them to the nation's tax authorities or face tough penalties, according to new government regulations introduced ahead of this year's tax return filing.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2014
Firm's smartphone bar code system offers food info in foreign languages
Bar code maker Sato Holdings develops a multilingual system to let people call up information on allergens or religiously sensitive ingredients in Japanese food by smartphone.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2014
Indie designer Kanai carves out niche with analog board games
In an age when every toddler fiddles with electronic game consoles and smartphones, Seiji Kanai says his passion lies in creating analog board games.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2014
Scholar quits NHK over nuclear power hush-up
A noted professor who regularly provides commentary on an NHK AM radio show resigns from the program to protest the broadcaster's demand that nuclear power not be discussed until after the Feb. 9 Tokyo gubernatorial poll.
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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