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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.
A majority of pollen allergy cases in Japan are caused by cedar trees, which cover 18% of Japan’s forests, due mostly to Japan’s forestation policy after World War II.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Feb 4, 2024
As hay fever season approaches, here’s what you need to know to prepare
Your eyes start itching, your nose keeps running and you can’t stop sneezing. It's nearly time for Japan's dreaded hay fever season.
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is seen on the surface of the moon in an image released Jan. 25.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 2, 2024
Japan’s historic moon landing was right on target
Japan made history last month when it became the fifth nation to soft land on the moon.
A woman grills a piece of beef at a barbeque restaurant in Yokohama. Greenhouse gas emissions from food amount to a third of all human-caused emissions.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jan 28, 2024
The complicated balance between health and climate in the Japanese diet
In Japan, people with higher-emitting diets also tend to eat healthier, raising questions for the health- and environment-conscious consumer.
Shitsui Hakoishi, 107, works with researcher Yasumichi Arai (left) while her younger brother, Hidemasa, looks on. Researchers like Arai believe the healthy and active Hakoishi's cells may hold the secret to living a long life.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Jan 27, 2024
Living until 100, if not forever, in good health
Immortality may be out of reach, but can a slew of research projects prolong our natural aging process?
An image of Japan's lunar lander and the moon's surface captured by SORA-Q, which was successfully released before the craft's touchdown on Saturday
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 25, 2024
Japan’s space agency confirms breakthrough high-precision moon landing
JAXA's "Moon Sniper" successfully landed within 100 meters of its target, much more precise than the several kilometers of typical moon missions.
A scanning electron micrograph of group A streptococcus bacteria
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 24, 2024
Cases of tissue-damaging bacterial disease hit record high in Japan
Health authorities are urging people to take basic health measures such as hand-washing to prevent the spread of the disease.
A screen shows JAXA officials in the mission control room at the space agency's campus in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 20, 2024
Japan makes history as spacecraft lands on the moon
The successful landing makes Japan just the fifth country to land a spacecraft on the moon, but questions remain over whether the mission can achieve all its goals.
An image of what a permanent base on the moon might look like. JAXA's SLIM lander will transform how space agencies explore celestial bodies that have gravity, allowing landers to touch down on even rugged terrain, the agency says.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 18, 2024
Anticipation soars as Japan’s SLIM readies for moon landing
The mission puts the agency's pinpoint landing technology to the test and could accelerate international space exploration.
A volunteer places a box containing medicines into a drone on Jan. 8 in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 16, 2024
Drones' potential put to test in Ishikawa quake relief
As relief efforts continue, some hope to see a boost in the role of drones in responding to disasters in the future.
People wear masks at an evacuation center in the town of Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 8. The number of people with acute respiratory infectious diseases, which include COVID-19 and influenza, at evacuation centers in the prefecture stood at 142 as of Sunday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 15, 2024
COVID and Japan, four years later: Normality, but words of caution
The nation has mostly returned to the pre-pandemic norm, but experts warn against people letting their guard down completely.
A port in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Saturday. The seafloor was uplifted due to the Jan. 1 earthquake.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 10, 2024
Ishikawa quake triggered by faults that were dormant for 4,000 years
Through ground uplift, the total land area of the Noto Peninsula has expanded by 4.4 square kilometers.
Firefighters inspect collapsed wooden houses in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday, a day after a major 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the Noto region in the prefecture.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2024
Ishikawa quake rescue efforts ramp up as crucial time window narrows
Over 33,000 people are staying in evacuation centers with limited access to electricity and water.
The iconic structure with its shell-shaped roof at Bennelong Point in Sydney is a source of immense pride for many Australians.
CULTURE / Art
Dec 27, 2023
Yuzo Mikami: The unsung hero behind the Sydney Opera House
On the building's 50th anniversary, those with memories and knowledge of the Japanese architect say recognition of his achievements is long-overdue.
Shingo Takashima, a 26-year-old doctor, killed himself three months into his specialty doctor training at a general hospital in Kobe.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Dec 13, 2023
Young doctor’s suicide highlights overwork culture at Japan hospitals
The issue is coming into sharper focus ahead of the April implementation of a legal cap on doctors’ overtime.
Mariko Hayashi, chairperson of Nihon University, bows her head in apology at a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 4, 2023
Nihon University chair vows to continue reforms despite calls to quit
The vice president and president have decided to resign to take responsibility for a drug scandal involving the American football team.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida receives a COVID-19 booster shot in Tokyo on Nov. 11.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 28, 2023
Japan approves first domestically developed COVID-19 XBB vaccine
The XBB-adapted coronavirus vaccine will be available as a booster under the nation’s free COVID-19 vaccination program beginning next week.
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation's new exhibition lets people experience life with robots.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 22, 2023
Miraikan science museum debuts new permanent exhibition on aging
Visitors will be able to experience various age-related challenges such as blurry vision and heaviness in the legs.
Visitors stroll through a tunnel of autumn maple leaves at Mount Koya in Wakayama Prefecture on Nov. 4.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Nov 19, 2023
Fall is the new summer: Warming threatens Japan’s cultural calendar
Climate change is disrupting Japan’s autumn and seasonal experiences, and with it the rhythm of people’s lives.
People with triple-negative breast cancers account for 10% to 20% of all breast cancer cases in Japan.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 16, 2023
Heart failure drugs may help prevent breast cancer relapse: Japanese study
The study, conducted by a team of Japanese researchers, could lead to the future development of a therapy for patients with triple-negative breast cancer.
Smuggled cannabis resin, which had been hidden inside ethnic Indian musical instruments, alongside the instruments in which they were hidden, at a police station in Fukuoka Prefecture in 2012.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 14, 2023
Bill to legalize cannabis-derived drugs clears Japan’s Lower House
The bill was sent to the Upper House the same day. If approved there, changes stipulated in the bill will likely go into effect by the end of next year.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?