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April 10, 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
LIFE / Digital
Jun 15, 2011
Reopened Miraikan back to the future
Miraikan is back — and in the context of post-March 11 Japan, public expectations for the museum, whose mission is to bring cutting-edge science and technology closer to the public, are greater than ever.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 10, 2011
Osaka park celebrates firefly season
The Expo Park in Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, is hosting a firefly-viewing festival through June 12.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 9, 2011
World's third-largest art fair ups profile of Asian works
For Japanese artists in need of international exposure, Hong Kong, it seems, is their closest window to the world. Last month, the city's international art fair, ART HK 2011, now in its fourth year, attracted art-lovers from all over the world, including many from mainland China, where the booming economy...
JAPAN / WEEK 3
May 15, 2011
Author's fiction turns horribly real
The Pacific Ocean a few kilometers off the coast of a city in the Tokai region of central Honshu turns white. Hundreds of curious holidaymakers caught in a traffic jam on the seaside road get out of their cars and jump up onto the sea wall for a better view of the strange sight — only to realize that...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 1, 2011
Atsuko Muraki: Fighter for justice
Atsuko Muraki was thrown into the public spotlight in 2009, when she was head of the Equal Employment, Children and Families Bureau at the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 24, 2011
Mikura: Tokyo's island of natural wonders
Last week, while much of the metropolis continued to reel from aftershocks following the March 11 megaquake, and worries about radiation leaks from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear reactors lurked in most people's minds, there was a part of Tokyo blissfully removed from all that madness.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 24, 2011
A place of refuge for exiles and foreign wayfarers
The 21-sq.-km island of Mikura has a distinctive history remembered and shared well by villagers.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Apr 22, 2011
NHK hopes for a home run with new anime
It's a quintessential scene of Japanese youth: Young boys out in baseball uniforms jog across their school grounds, the white and maroon of their gear contrasting with a clear blue sky. In the bleachers, an earnest-looking high school girl named Minami, in a jersey that matches the team's uniforms, eyes...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / WEEK 3
Apr 17, 2011
All fired up by Japanese wheels
Cycling has enjoyed a renewed boom in popularity in recent years as an eco-friendly means of transportation and for its health benefits. Reflecting this trend, more and more helmet-donning businesspeople are seen cycling to work on their glimmering sports bikes these days, often gliding past cars on...
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 10, 2011
Awaji Island quake museum offers shocks and survivors
At age 79, Yoshiko Negita's mind is alert and her memory is laser-sharp. There is, too, a sense of urgency in her voice as this resident of Awaji Island in the Seto Inland Sea speaks to visitors at its Hokudan Earthquake Memorial Park. There, preserved at an experiential museum, is an exposed section...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 1, 2011
Kageyama to drum up aid
Award-winning taiko drummer Isaku Kageyama — known for his fusion of Japanese traditional music with jazz, rock and club music — will hold a charity performance in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, on April 8. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Japan Red Cross Society to help victims of the March...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Mar 25, 2011
Comic's tweets tackle specter of fear
These are hard times for entertainers in Japan. In the face of the March 11 Tohoku-Kanto Earthquake and tsunami, which has killed more than 9,000 and left many more missing, and with radiation still leaking from the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, hard news coverage has taken center stage,...
JAPAN / Media
Mar 23, 2011
Scatalogical 'Reactor Boy' web-cartoon eases fears of radiation
On March 15, four days after the Tohoku-Kanto earthquake and amid the heightened radiation fears following explosions at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Tokyo-based media artist Kazuhiko Hachiya started posting a series of short messages on Twitter.
JAPAN / Q&A
Mar 16, 2011
Take proper steps to avoid exposure to fallout
More residents near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture were ordered to evacuate Tuesday, raising concerns about radiation exposure.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2011
Clinics do their best to deal with outages
Hospitals and clinics scurried Monday to cope with the start of rolling blackouts in the Kanto region.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Feb 27, 2011
The actor, the Prince and the fan mail
British actor Ben Barnes shot to fame in 2008 with his portrayal of the then-Prince Caspian in "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," the second installment of the film adaption of author C.S. Lewis' classic seven-book series, "The Chronicles of Narnia."
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 25, 2011
Theme park shows kids career fun
Come April, all public elementary schools in Japan will start teaching English to students in Grades 5 and 6. Kidzania, a popular indoor amusement park that aims to simulate different types of jobs, is giving kids a head start in English education.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Feb 20, 2011
Mystery author Isaka writes to control his fears
Novelists all have different motivations to write. For Kotaro Isaka, an award-winning mystery writer whose books always rank high on Japan's bestseller list, it's the constant "fear" of something calamitous happening — whether it be a North Korean missile attack or an outbreak of an unknown flu virus...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 18, 2011
Plum-viewing season marks start of spring
With freezing weather hopefully a thing of the past, it's easier to plan outings now — and viewing plum blossoms are a great way to get in the mood for spring.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 4, 2011
Knives out for Osaka fair
Knives might not seem like a likely theme for anything festive, but at a fair happening in the city of Sakai, Osaka, that household tool is the center of attraction.
Wall Street will regret helping the world burn
Wall Street banks, under political pressure and tempted by short-term gains, are abandoning climate commitments and pouring billions into fossil fuels, risking both environmental catastrophe and massive future economic losses.
Trump's tariff gambit leaves Asia stunned and scrambling
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he attends the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner in Washington on Tuesday. Trump allowed new tariffs — including a 24% levy on Japan — to go into effect as scheduled on Wednesday.
Japan and U.S. appoint tariff negotiators after Ishiba-Trump phone call
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa enters the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japanese makers rush to mitigate possible Nankai Trough earthquake damage
Toyota is considering transferring some production in the key Tokai region, which is expected to be hit hard in a Nankai Trough earthquake, to the Tohoku and Kyushu regions.
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.
Who is Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariffs negotiator?
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, who Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has appointed Japan's tariff negotiator, is one of his closest allies and busiest ministers.
After a tumultuous buildup, a first look at the Osaka Expo
A large statue of Osaka Expo mascot Myaku Myaku sits near the east entrance of the event's venue in Yumeshima island, Osaka, on Wednesday.
Japan gets a new U.S. ambassador — and he has his work cut out for him
George Glass, U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to be ambassador to Japan, attends a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington on March 13.
Online art scene eager to go offline, at least for the moment
Digital artist Polygon1993 revels in the physicality of nostalgic technology, making art out of materials such as miniature CDs, holographic prints layered with plexiglass shards and a giant custom-made floppy disk.
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.

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

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