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April 01, 2025
 

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Tomoko Otake

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@Tomoko_Otake

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.
Masashi Okada, project manager in charge of H3’s development at JAXA, speaks during a news conference on Tuesday in Minamitane, Kagoshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 16, 2024
Japan’s space agency set to retry H3 rocket launch
With H3, JAXA aims to maintain Japan’s prowess in rocket development technologies and give a jolt to related industries.
Canned ready-to-drink cocktails, including Asahi Breweries' 9% Clear Cooler Strong chūhai produced in conjunction with Seven & I Holdings, at a 7-Eleven store in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Tuesday
BUSINESS
Feb 13, 2024
Asahi calls time on new strong chūhai amid low-alcohol shift in Japan
New versions of the canned fizzy cocktails with alcohol content of 8% or higher will not be launched in order to “reduce inappropriate drinking.”
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 13, 2024
Japan startup creates pigs with organs suitable for human transplants
Research in the field helped produce pigs that have a smaller chance of immune rejection by human recipients by manipulating 10 related pig genes.
The hippocampus is a part of the brain that controls memory, learning and emotions. Stressful life events such as disasters and terrorist attacks are known to lead to post-traumatic stress disorder and result in its shrinkage.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 9, 2024
Tokyo teens were less stressed during first COVID emergency: study
Increases in the volume of the hippocampus in their brains suggest reduced stress, according to research conducted by the University of Tokyo.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel (left), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Mandy Cohen (center) and health minister Keizo Takemi attend a ceremony to mark the opening of the U.S. agency's East Asia and Pacific regional office in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2024
U.S. CDC opens regional office in Tokyo
The regional office, located inside the U.S. Embassy, will collaborate with 26 countries and territories in East Asia and the Pacific.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
NFL comeback star Damar Hamlin shares life-saving message in Tokyo
Damar Hamlin poses with students at The American School in Japan on Thursday.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.

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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