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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
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2008
'Talk' therapy helps against inhibitions
Cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy are widely known abroad to be effective in treating depression.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2008
Treating clinical depression a tall order
Depression is no stranger to Japanese society, but only within the last decade has its "clinical" component gained currency along with the realization that the malady can affect almost anyone.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2008
Women key to fixing demographic crunch
KYOTO — Japan, the world's most rapidly graying nation, can learn from Europe how to cope with an aging society, especially in such areas as increasing the participation of women, according to experts and journalists at a recent conference.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jan 20, 2008
Hitting hairdressing's highs the flat-top way
Wielding a hair dryer in one hand, a comb in the other, and with another comb held between his teeth, hairdresser Hideki Sato, 34, tackles the jet-black locks of a male model.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 13, 2008
Puff your way to health through a pipe
If you are looking for a fitness activity that combines the tranquillity of Japanese archery and the thrill of blood-curdling ninja — along with the fun of playing darts — then fukiya (blowpipe darts) is maybe for you.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 4, 2007
A cute and kind of sexy guide to Japan
Manga has conquered America. Or so declares the November issue of the U.S. tech magazine Wired, which carries a 10-page manga story describing how manga is reshaping American pop culture. Booming manga sales — which, according to the magazine, account for almost two-thirds of the $330-million graphic...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 20, 2007
A support service for sufferers
Phones ring off the hook in the office of VOL-NEXT, a Tokyo-based company that offers various goods and services for women battling breast cancer. Chiharu Soga, the demure 42-year-old who runs the three-year-old company, has just fielded a phone call made in desperation by the sister of a recently diagnosed...
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 20, 2007
Breast-cancer treatment is not always the same
Getting tested or treated for a life-threatening disease is nerve-racking for anyone, but it can be all the more so when outside of your home country.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Nov 18, 2007
Changing lives with castoffs
Michiyo Yoshida is a prime example of that green mantra, "Think globally, act locally." But the nonprofit organization she cofounded to send used wheelchairs to developing countries has also enabled members to "think globally and act globally."
Japan Times
LIFE / CLOSE-UP
Nov 4, 2007
Sue Palmer: The kids are not OK, top educator warns
To a growing legion of educated, enlightened and empowered mothers in Japan and abroad, Sue Palmer's advice on how to bring up children might sound — if not heard in context — too old-fashioned, too alarmist or even maybe too naive to prepare their loved ones for the rapidly changing, fiercely competitive...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 26, 2007
Don't go for the gov, go for the good grub
Since comedian-turned-politican Hideo Higashikokubaru was elected governor of Miyazaki Prefecture in January, the previously nondescript, countryside region of 1.14 million people on the southeastern coast of Kyushu, southern Japan, has had its profile dramatically boosted.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Oct 21, 2007
One man with a mighty passion for mannequins
Mannequins are a foil for fashion items, whether they be coats, stockings or even hairpieces. Few of us pause to wonder where those plastic dolls go after they grace the shop windows or decorate department store floors.
LIFE / Language
Sep 23, 2007
Back-to-front books open new chapter on globalizing Japanese
As Japan struggles with the mushrooming of English loanwords in its midst, there are signs that the Japanese language might be exploring another new relationship with English — by absorbing the English alphabet and even some grammar directly.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Sep 23, 2007
Japanese: A language in a state of flux
Languages are never static. They change and evolve with people over time. They also interact with other languages, and through an endless cycle of loaning and borrowing of words, ideas and concepts are shared, exchanged and nurtured across national and cultural boundaries.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 16, 2007
Postmodern sports for all
One night last month, while I was lazily channel-surfing at home, I happened on shot-putters doing their thing at the IAAF's World Athletics Championships in Osaka.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / WEEK 3
Aug 19, 2007
Beauty beheld in brutalism
No matter how wild or wacky their hobbies or obsessions, in the age of the Internet no one need feel isolated any more, and by casting all inhibitions aside almost anyone is assured of finding like-minded others out there in cyberspace — if not just around the corner from home.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 26, 2007
The village of the dammed
Shortly after being relocated to other towns in the late 1980s to make way for Japan's largest dam, about 10 aging former residents defiantly returned to the abandoned village of Tokuyama, in western Gifu Prefecture, determined to live there as long as possible. They sheltered in their old homes or makeshift...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 17, 2007
How to survive summer fatigue
Imagine being in a sauna for a few hours. Then imagine getting out of it and walking straight into a giant freezer for another few hours. Do this several times a day and continue the routine for a couple of months. Some people say that's what spending summer in Japan is like.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 1, 2007
Kotaro Sawaki: Writer on the road of life
Kotaro Sawaki is one of the most popular nonfiction writers in Japan. He made his name with "Shinya Tokkyu (Midnight Express)," a reportage of a yearlong overland trip through Asia and Europe he took when he was in his mid-20s. Those stories — whose title refers to a euphemism for "prison break" used...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 19, 2007
Creating calm in children's minds
It's no big secret that children in Japan need to relax a bit more. With many undergoing entrance exams at age 12 — some even at age 6 — today's pre-teens are pressured to compete with their peers and be stellar academic performers from early on. Then there is ijime (bullying), a perennial problem,...
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.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
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.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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