author

 
Menu
Search
 
April 08, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Tomoko Otake

Meta

Twitter

@Tomoko_Otake

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
Oct 18, 2013
Job hunt stressing students, making them suicidal: poll
Tormented by the difficulty of landing a position and unfair practices by prospective employers, 1 in 5 college students contemplate suicide during the job-hunting process, a poll of 122 students finds.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2013
Japanese firm's mascot name earns ridicule
Osaka-based Fukushima Industries Corp. apologizes for the uproar over Fukuppy, its latest corporate mascot, and admits it may change the name or at least the spelling in Roman characters.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 15, 2013
Tax-free account seeks to spur investment
Starting in January, individuals who invest in stocks and investment trusts in a Nippon Individual Savings Account will be eligible for tax exemptions of up to five years on their financial gains. The new instrument is aimed at getting people used to accumulating financial assets via small-scale investments....
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2013
Medical experts seek to dial back over-prescription for schizophrenia
Doctors in Japan have long prescribed a cocktail of several types of drugs to people with mental illnesses, often leading to various side effects.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 5, 2013
Mizuho admits four execs knew of yakuza loans
Mizuho Bank has admitted that at least four of its executives, including two former deputy presidents, knew that it was lending money to underworld and other "antisocial" groups and that it neither stopped nor sought to hold management responsible.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 3, 2013
Ebizo rethinks kabuki's strategy
In the glitzy and gossipy world of Japanese celebrity, hardly a week goes by without revelations being made about — or made by — Ichikawa Ebizo XI.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 3, 2013
German band to feature at Oktoberfest
In Japan, Oktoberfest tends to be a year-round celebration. Beer companies here will hold the traditional German party whenever they feel like a break. This month (or maybe we should say, this week) it's Yokohama's turn.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Oct 2, 2013
Households to take hit from tax hike
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people's financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2013
IT startup barters its way into niche
At around noon on a recent weekday, the Roppongi branch of Shamrock by Abbot Choice, a Tokyo-based Irish-style pub chain, had a bustling lunchtime crowd.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 23, 2013
The 'whole' brown-bread challenge in Japan
Whole-wheat and whole-grain products are hard to find in Japan, where most bakeries and supermarkets sell white bread products only.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 21, 2013
Internet NPO links kids worldwide
Earlier this month, when the nation's Olympic bid ambassador Christel Takigawa referred to "omotenashi" (the spirit of Japanese-style hospitality) in her speech to the International Olympic Committee, the term quickly turned into a buzzword in Japan.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 19, 2013
Festival brings old films out of storage
Every year, nearly 100 of the films produced in Japan are said to "go into storage."
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 14, 2013
Rescuing gadgets from the golden age of 'Made in Japan'
Piles of old electronic gadgetry, most of it out of order, clutter Junichi Matsuzaki's "studio" on the first floor of an aging public apartment building in Adachi Ward in northeastern Tokyo. To visitors the outdated technology may look like junk, but to the 53-year-old self-proclaimed consumer electronics...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 10, 2013
Anatomy app gives users a better understanding of the human body
Back in highschool, I was in the middle of basketball practice, when I suddenly felt an acute pain in my knee. I had no idea what had happened to me. After visits to several different clinics, none of which could identify the problem, I finally found an orthopedist who accurately guessed the cause of...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 9, 2013
Renovating business and hope in Onomichi
The city of Onomichi in the southeastern part of Hiroshima Prefecture, which looks out to the Seto Inland Sea, has a rich and long tradition as a hub of trade. During the Edo Period (1603-1867), it prospered as a key docking point for domestic ships peddling goods, and from the early 20th century it...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 5, 2013
Pumpkins to go on show for Cinderella festival
It's more than a month before Halloween, but you can get in the spooky spirit at the Cinderella Yume Matsuri (Cinderella Dream Festival), where you'll get a rare chance to gawk at hundreds of pumpkins of various sizes and carved into different characters.
Events / Events In Tokyo
Aug 29, 2013
Asakusa gets ready to party Brazilian style
Tokyo's Asakusa neighborhood is one of the capital's top tourist destinations. Sensoji Temple and the shopping arcade nearby offer visitors a glimpse into traditional Japan. This coming weekend, though, the area will be full of Brazilian energy and the passionate rhythm and music of samba.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Aug 17, 2013
Image-flip for male rhythmic gymnasts
Smirks and snickering tend to greet any mention of "men's rhythmic gymnastics," as the phrase conjures up images of chaps in tights prancing around swinging ribbons or clutching squeezy balls to their chests like the sport's female exponents.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Aug 8, 2013
African group drums up a party
The African drumming theater is back, providing people with a fun and entertaining way of letting off some steam and experiencing a new culture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 7, 2013
Koki Mitani adds comedy to bunraku
Koki Mitani is Japan's top comedy writer, having written a number of stage plays, TV dramas and films. He also loves working with puppets, and has put together a serialized puppet drama for public broadcaster NHK. Despite a love of puppets, however, it was only about 10 years ago when he first saw a...
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.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it
An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Nikkei plunges in third-biggest daily loss ever amid Trump tariff concerns
Pedestrians stand in front of an electronic board showing the numbers of the Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange along a street in the Japanese capital on Monday.
Ride-hailing services spreading in Japan
Vehicles used for ride-hailing services in the city of Kiryu, in Gunma Prefecture
Japan responds to Trump's tariffs with a polite phone call and request
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a joint press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Feb. 7.
‘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

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)
BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER