Tomoko Otake - The Japan Times

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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

BUSINESS

Mar 1, 2003

Executive, academic to head revival body

The Cabinet decided Friday to appoint a former Nomura Securities Co. executive and a high-profile academic to lead a proposed government-backed entity tasked with restructuring indebted firms and revitalizing industries.

BUSINESS

Feb 13, 2003

WTO spotlighted as trade chiefs gather for Tokyo meeting

Trade ministers from 25 nations will enter three days of intense negotiations in Tokyo on Friday as part of a new round of World Trade Organization trade liberalization talks. Here is a roundup of some basic facts on the organization and issues to be discussed.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Feb 8, 2003

'Bereavement industry' in flux

Most of the businesses providing funeral and other services pertaining to the dead are mom-and-pop operations catering to local needs.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Feb 4, 2003

Docs find flu drug dearth hard to swallow

Pediatrician Jiro Tsukada says that being stingy has become part of his job.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

Dec 8, 2002

Cashing in far away

Akihisa Fujita has always been a night owl. The 32-year-old former bartender spent much of his 20s serving drinks at high-end establishments in Tokyo's Ginza and Yoyogi-Uehara districts, all the while dreaming of owning his own.

Japan Times

JAPAN / PREFECTURAL FARE

Nov 30, 2002

Representative office gives visitors hands-on approach to Yamanashi

The Yamanashi Prefectural Trade and Tourist Center in Tokyo's Minami-Azabu district is trying to offer more than just tasty delights and souvenir crafts.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Nov 9, 2002

Social responsibility a safe investment

One Akiyama thrived in the fast-paced, high-stakes world of finance for 18 years, working as a U.S. government bond trader for several brokerages in Tokyo and New York. Until about a year ago.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Sep 27, 2002

Canada program offers help to isolated parents

A group of child-care experts is offering help to mothers in Japan via a Canadian parent-education program aimed at building self-esteem and creating a supportive network of friends, families and experts.

Japan Times

JAPAN / BABY BUST

Sep 21, 2002

Isolation poses major danger to modern mothers

Yumi, the mother of a 17-month-old girl in Tokyo, said she started feeling the burden of raising a child even before she became a mom.

JAPAN

Sep 19, 2002

Baby-products firm pushes male child-care leave

In a society where raising a child is perceived as more of a burden than a joy, what can a corporation do to change this mind-set?

Japan Times

JAPAN

Sep 18, 2002

Trying to learn from failure suddenly all the rage

Isatsugu Sugahara, president of leading box-lunch caterer Tamagoya Co., runs his fingers across a stained, worn-out calendar, looking for a little circle he drew years ago. His fingers stop at May 12, 1982, the day his life changed forever.

JAPAN

Aug 26, 2002

Convention eyes mental illness stigma

YOKOHAMA -- Mental health experts at an international convention of psychiatry here on Sunday stressed the need to eliminate the stigma attached to and discrimination faced by people with schizophrenia and their families.

Japan Times

JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS

Aug 24, 2002

Taro Okamoto museum throws open artist's inner sanctum

Even to those who are clueless when it comes to art and culture, the name Taro Okamoto will probably ring a bell. After all, the late avant-garde artist was responsible for the famous statement "Geijutsu wa bakuhatsu da!" ("Art is an explosion!")

Japan Times

JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM

Jul 28, 2002

Tokyo planetary science professor doubles as ramen guru

Although the fields of extraterrestrial activity and ramen may seem to be worlds apart, these disparate subjects have provided one Japanese academic with widespread recognition.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jul 26, 2002

Accused train gropers sometimes victims?

On the morning of April 13, 1999, freelance writer Naoki Ito was on a rush-hour train in Tokyo, heading home after working all night. Just after the train left Ikebukuro Station, a high school girl turned to him, grabbed him by the wrist and said, "Cut it out."

JAPAN

Jul 16, 2002

New preventive tack may relegate drills, pliers to the trash can

Within a decade, the day may come when people will be spared the pain of having bad teeth extracted or cavities drilled. In fact, bad teeth may become a thing of the past.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jun 18, 2002

SIDS diagnoses seen as malpractice cover

In June 1999, Shinobu and Shinya Ishii took their 4-month-old son, Mahiro, to a municipally run hospital in the city of Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, for treatment of bronchitis, and were told he would be released after a week or less of care.

JAPAN

Jun 18, 2002

Diagnostic options seen skewed by dearth of autopsies, probes

Recent controversy over a diagnosis of sudden infant death syndrome has exposed deep-rooted divisions among Japan's SIDS researchers.

Japan Times

JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS

May 18, 2002

Pieces at Tokyo furniture museum all miniature history lessons: curator

A piece of furniture speaks volumes about history, lifestyles and people's sense of beauty, according to Masashi Saito, curator of the Furniture Museum in Tokyo's Harumi district.

Japan Times

JAPAN

May 15, 2002

Koto moves to stem resident boom

As many areas of central Tokyo try to woo new residents, Koto Ward is taking the opposite tack and virtually begging developers to stop constructing new apartment complexes.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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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