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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
ENVIRONMENT / WEEK 3
Nov 18, 2012
The muddy issue of cesium in a lake
Lake Kasumigaura in Ibaraki Prefecture is facing an environmental threat that has essentially turned it into a time bomb ticking away 60 km northeast of Tokyo.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 16, 2012
Community art project pops up
A soon-to-be-demolished school building might sound too spooky to be a venue for an art show, but that's precisely where Trans Arts Tokyo is being held.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 9, 2012
Grandson of famed noh actor to debut
Many young artists experience a make-or-break moment in their careers. For 24-year-old noh actor Motoi Imai, his debut as the shite (lead) character in the production of "Tsunemasa" could be that moment.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Nov 4, 2012
Yoshiko Tatsumi: Cookery guru serves wisdom with her soups
"Never fight a war with Chinese people, because we would lose," Yoshiko Tatsumi sternly warned, "with absolute certainty," a 40-strong group of mostly middle-aged women gathered recently in her spacious three-story residence set in gardens in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 23, 2012
Doctors discuss a face-lift for Japan's plastic surgery societies
Though it's hardly talked about in public, cosmetic surgery appears to be an increasingly popular option in Japan for people trying to enhance their looks and defy the signs of aging.
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 14, 2012
Farmer plows own antiradiation furrow
At the end of March 2011, a few weeks after the Great East Japan Earthquake, 20 rice farmers affiliated to J-Rap, an agricultural distribution company in Sukagawa, central Fukushima Prefecture, got together to assess the situation.
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 14, 2012
Food co-op sues Tepco over soiled reputation
Nanohana Seikyo — a Chiba Prefecture food distribution cooperative with about 11,500 members — made headlines last month when it took on the role of David by suing the corporate Goliath that is Tokyo Electric Power Co. for losses in sales incurred as a result of the March 2011 nuclear disaster.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 28, 2012
Yokohama garden goes for seasonal ambience during five-day moon-viewing event
Cool evening breezes are a sign that autumn is here. For five days beginning Friday, Sankeien, a Japanese garden in Yokohama is encouraging visitors to engage in a seasonal pastime: tsukimi (moon-viewing).
Japan Times
LIFE
Sep 23, 2012
Hip-hop zooms into schools
The CD player is switched on and a mellow male voice singing a pop tune fills the hot and humid school gymnasium, seeming to soften its ambience like a breath of fresh air.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 16, 2012
Lover of detail strives to keep a kimono-dyeing art alive
As an expert dyer of Edo-komon-style kimonos whose repeated, especially intricate patterns are often so tiny as to be almost microscopic, Emika Iwashita is a mistress of subtlety and the tiniest detail.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 6, 2012
Play challenges woman's role by examining the life of poet Kanoko Okamoto
Can an artist justify her pursuit of extra-marital affairs for the sake of maintaining her artistic inspiration? Can a woman's husband and her son nurture an amicable, trusting relationship with her young lover living in their house?
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Aug 19, 2012
Politics taint Ahn Sehong's 'comfort women' photo exhibition
Visitors to a photo exhibition would not typically be asked to open their bags or walk through a metal detector before entering the exhibition site. Nor would they expect to catch the inquisitive gazes of various plainclothes police officers lurking in the crowd once inside.
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 12, 2012
Queen Elizabeth engineering prize seeks innovation for easing life's hardships
Nominations are currently open for Britain's first-ever international Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, which has been created to honor individuals for groundbreaking innovation that benefits humanity — and which rewards the winner handsomely with a staggering ￡1 million (¥123 million).
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 12, 2012
Professor aspires toward the perfect prosthetic design
"Functionality and aesthetics can co-exist."
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 12, 2012
Japan's Paralympians overcome adversity by leaps, bounds and innovative design
When Oscar Pistorius made his dramatic debut in the men's 400-meter race in London last Saturday — becoming the first double amputee to compete alongside able-bodied athletes in Olympics history — some people might have wondered if the South African's artificial legs gave him a competitive edge over...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 10, 2012
Hello Kitty designer Yuko Yamaguchi shows off character's artistic side
Hello Kitty, the superstar feline character created by Sanrio Co. 38 years ago, has gained fans across generations, with products featuring her likeness selling in 109 countries. The Hello Kitty Art Exhibition, which started Thursday in Osaka, tries to explain the secret of its appeal through the eyes...
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 5, 2012
Restoration of temple 'harder than building it'
The year was 1735, and on the plains of Menuma in present-day Saitama Prefecture, master builder Hayashi Masakiyo was going from village to village assembling a group of top-class carpenters, engravers, painters and other artisans.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Aug 5, 2012
David Atkinson: Ancient Japan captures money man's interest
David Atkinson was still in his 20s when he rose to fame as a Japan-based banking analyst with the U.S. investment bank Salomon Brothers, prior to him moving to Goldman Sachs.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 27, 2012
Sisi stars in new exhibition
More than a century after her death, Austria's Empress Elisabeth (1837-1898) has built a big fan base in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 22, 2012
Power spots and prehistory in beautiful Aomori Prefecture
The government of Aomori Prefecture which straddles the whole of the northern end of Japan's main island of Honshu — and is best known as the nation's apple capital — broke new ground in its tourism promotion campaign late last year, when it announced it would start selling the prefecture as the...
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.
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ex-yokozuna Kitanofuji dies at 82
Yokozuna Kitanofuji enters the ring during the May 1970 grand sumo tournament in Tokyo.
Man charged with murder allegedly made victim date other men for money
A car carrying suspect Ryotaro Masuda, who was indicted for allegedly beating his 25-year-old girlfriend to death, leaves the Shibuya Police Station in Tokyo on Thursday.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
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.

Podcast

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