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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.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Aug 3, 2013
Toyohiro Akiyama: Cautionary tales from one not afraid to risk all
In December 1990, journalist Toyohiro Akiyama made headlines the world over when he blasted off aboard a Soviet rocket to become the very first "space correspondent" in history.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 25, 2013
Hentai animation night at YCAM
The word "hentai" has two meanings in Japanese, referring both to "metamorphosis" and "abnormality/perversion." On Saturday, Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media will screen a series of 13 hentai films — covering the wackiest, weirdest animated shorts in which the characters also undergo various kinds...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WEEK 3
Jul 20, 2013
On the trail of bear hunters' heritage
Takashi Yoshikawa is no easy man to figure out. Trim and well tanned, the 63-year-old owns a small ryokan (traditional inn) nestled in the foothills of the beautiful Shirakami Mountains which straddle 130,000 hectares of Aomori and Akita prefectures, and whose 17,000 hectares of beech forests were listed...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 11, 2013
Experiments in the wild
Ten years ago, when a new cultural facility opened in the western Japan city of Yamaguchi, its founders sought to fulfill a role quite different from those museums in the countryside.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2013
Abe wants to gut public protections: expert
If the Liberal Democratic Party succeeds in rewriting the Constitution, it would severely scale back fundamental human rights and strip the public of various civil liberties, a prominent constitutional scholar warns.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 25, 2013
The neglected stars of Norwegian design
What do you think of as a typical example of Scandinavian design? The massively copied 1950s bentwood chair series "Seven Chairs" by Danish architect Arne Jacobsen? The vividly colored Unikko poppy patterns by the Finnish textile company Marimekko? Or the ready-to-assemble furniture available at the...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 21, 2013
June blooms decorate Japan
While the ongoing rainy season means staying indoors to some people, for others, it is a chance to get out and enjoy the beautiful tapestry of ajisai (hydrangeas), whose colors vary from white to blue to pink to purple — and all shades in between.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jun 16, 2013
Family-crest master fears he's one of a dying breed
Dressed in a black kimono and wearing a pair of eye-catching black, triple-framed spectacles, Shoryu Hatoba straightens his back as he sits on the tatami floor of his quaint studio in Ueno, central Tokyo, holding a pair of bamboo compasses fitted with a brush dipped in ink in place of a pencil.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 7, 2013
Yokohama to celebrate French culture
Interested in France? Head to Yokohama.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jun 2, 2013
Language no barrier to multimedia Jon Kabira
With a long rousing cry of “Goooooooood Mooooorning Tooookyoooooooooooo!” Jon Kabira launches into his weekly radio show “JK Radio — Tokyo United” every Friday at 6 a.m. on J-Wave.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
May 24, 2013
Electric fireflies to light up river
The Tokyo Hotaru Festival is back for a second round. This participatory art installation involves 100,000 blue LED light bulbs that will be floated down Tokyo's Sumida River.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 19, 2013
Learning to live with your death
It can be a big challenge, even a burden, to strategize your life and prioritize your goals — and then stick to them.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 17, 2013
Walkathon will feature more than fitness
Here's your chance to make a difference while staying fit and having fun.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 10, 2013
Outlook is rosy at 15th annual garden show
It's that time of the year when things get rosy for flower lovers in Japan.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 10, 2013
Rice planters put on a show for famed event
An annual rice-planting festival known as the Mibu no Hana Taue Matsuri will be held Saturday in Hiroshima, giving visitors a peek into the centuries-old popular ritual that was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2011.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 5, 2013
Dai Tamesue: Japan's 'samurai hurdler' keeps rising to new challenges
Though word-class track athlete Dai Tamesue may have hung up his spikes, he has plenty of insights to share on how sports can play a bigger role in society.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 3, 2013
It's not too late for hanami
This year's sakura (cherry blossoms) took many people by surprise — especially in the Kanto region. Unusually warm weather in March hastened the peak of the blossoms by a couple of weeks, and by early April, when all the parties by and under the sakura trees were to take place, the beautiful pink petals...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 26, 2013
Sample a sweet Golden Week experience at the National Confectionary Expo
Sweets mean different things to different people. Some say such treats are their perfect stress release, while others say they bring back childhood memories.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Apr 23, 2013
Hiroshima: What sweets tickled your taste buds at the National Confectionery Exposition?
'A bag of cheap sweets and snacks from Osaka, as well as candies using tangerines from Sakurajima, Kagoshima Prefecture. I buy sweets mostly to give away to my kids and their friends.'
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Apr 19, 2013
Buddhist bash offers up some spiritual relief
Most Japanese people come in contact with Buddhist priests on formal occasions, such as when a family member passes away. But a cross-denominational group of young Buddhist monks is trying to change that — by putting together a unique cultural event involving three Buddhist temples, a Shinto shrine,...
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
By Johan Brooks

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