author

 
Menu
Search
 
January 22, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Tomoko Otake

Meta

Twitter

@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.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
May 26, 2009
Waseda academic confident country's charms are to be had by the open-minded
Paul Snowden came to Japan 40 years ago — thinking that his visit here would only last for two years, after which he would go back to his native England and settle down as a grammar school teacher.
Japan Times
LIFE
May 24, 2009
The beat goes on in Japan's jazz hub
As one of Japan's longest-standing maritime gateways to the world, Yokohama has absorbed many cultures from the West over the last 150 years — not least its abiding love of jazz.
Japan Times
LIFE
May 10, 2009
Salon chain nails move to manicures for men
A man recently turned up at the Omotesando branch of Nail Quick, a major nail salon chain, for a 45-minute treatment. "It's not like I take care of my nails passionately," the man, in blue jeans and a black hat, said, visibly embarrassed to be interviewed and asking not to be identified, except to say...
Japan Times
LIFE
May 10, 2009
Blurring the boundaries
Every society has its own terminology for a young generation regarded as odd or unfathomable, and marketers are quick to give them catchy labels. It's no exception in Japan, which is now abuzz with talk of men with a soft spot who are becoming known as soshokukei, meaning "herbivorous" or "herbivores."...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 3, 2009
Manabu Miyazaki: Outsider looking in
Born the son of a yakuza boss in Kyoto, Manabu Miyazaki is now a best-selling author. His life may read like fiction, but he raises social, political and media facts in a manner that's as frank as it is hard-hitting
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 1, 2009
A rosy way to spend Golden Week
T he rose-blossom season is coming up, and many places are offering visitors a chance to admire the flower seen in many cultures as a symbol of love and beauty at its best.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 24, 2009
Explaining the science of fear
We all have something to fear in our lives, whether it's death, the loss of money or natural disasters. But how do we develop these feelings of fear? How can we soften or overcome our experiences of fear? And would alcohol help ease it?
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Apr 19, 2009
Pedaling for the planet
One recent early morning, Franz-Michael S. Mellbin, the Danish ambassador to Japan, was to be found preparing for an important diplomatic mission at a rather unlikely venue — on the Tama River cycling track just by the Futakobashi Bridge linking Tokyo's Setagaya Ward and Kawasaki.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Apr 14, 2009
Job firing launched labor activist on career
You may have seen him on TV, commenting on Nova teachers who lost their income and housing when the language school went bankrupt in November 2007. Or you may have seen him marching through Shibuya, leading a chant of "Tatakau zo! (We'll fight!)" and calling for solidarity and action among workers. Or...
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Apr 14, 2009
'Sour Strawberries' spotlights plight of non-Japanese 'trainees'
The plight of foreign "trainees" in Japan, who often provide cheap labor at factories and in farm fields with no access to labor rights protection, is usually not something you discuss leisurely over a cup of coffee or a mug of beer. But people who showed up last month at Ben's Cafe in Tokyo had an opportunity...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 20, 2009
Free of cash concerns, Estonia produces top-class animation
A collection of witty and cynical animation films from Estonia are taking center stage at Laputa Asagaya, an art-house theater in Tokyo's Suginami Ward.
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 8, 2009
When scandal strikes a firm
Japanese culture and its scapegoat-seeking media often make bad times far worse for companies compromised by events. But for foreign firms less familiar with the country's societal norms, such problems can easily spiral completely out of control.
LIFE
Mar 8, 2009
U.S. shows way to medical apologies
So you think apologizing is the norm in Japan? Well, think again — especially with regard to its venerable medical profession.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2009
Afghanistan's drama set for stage
A high-ranking Afghan diplomat and a British dramatist are meeting a lot these days to discuss their common agenda: staging a play about violence-racked Afghanistan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Mar 3, 2009
Frenchman's flavorful twist on green tea has good of farmers at heart
Stubbornness and prudence seem to have paid off for Stephane Danton, a 44-year-old French entrepreneur who runs Ocharaka, a Japanese tea shop in Tokyo's trendy Kichijoji district.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 27, 2009
Humans, not cogs
Twenty-six years after it premiered at the Cottlesloe Theatre in London, David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross," which caused a sensation in 1983 with its horrific yet realistic depiction of the dog-eat-dog real-estate business in a recession-hit America, could almost be considered a classic. The play went...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 20, 2009
Dolls to be displayed for the health of girls
Events leading up to the March 3 Hina Matsuri (Japanese doll festival) are in full swing. In the centuries-old tradition, people decorate their homes with ornamental dolls and peach blossoms — and celebrate with sake and chirashi-zushi (sushi rice topped with egg and seafood) — to wish for young...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Feb 15, 2009
Amazing feats on the hoof
As I joined lines of people shuffling into a covered arena in Kiba, eastern Tokyo, one night recently, the scent of the air became distinctly more rural than urban.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Feb 3, 2009
Finding the silver lining
The difficulties encountered as a foreigner can be sources of ideas for business opportunities. This belief is demonstrated by Park Tae Moon's 18 years in Japan — and his successful transition from a newspaper delivery worker to the owner of a 20-staff magazine publishing/consulting business.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Feb 1, 2009
Chizu Saeki: Beauty's more than skin deep
Skincare guru Chizu Saeki's expertise is such that her abilities have been compared to those of a fortuneteller. She can, for example, determine people's physical and mental health condition, the key experiences that have influenced them, and even their outlook on life, merely by running her fingers...
Trump pledges to save U.S. from 'decline,' vowing new 'golden age'
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
Cedar pollen is already in the air in Tokyo
Climate change and urbanization are believed to have contributed to the earliest ever observation of cedar pollen in Tokyo, on Jan. 8, an expert says.
What went wrong at Fuji TV's news conference on allegations against Nakai?
Fuji TV President Koichi Minato speaks at a news conference on Friday in Tokyo.
BOJ likely to raise rates this week in absence of immediate Trump tariffs
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda is still signaling caution ahead of the central bank's January meeting.
Survey finds 80% of people want to take leftover restaurant food home
52.0% of people questioned in a survey said they want to use containers to take leftovers home if they are provided free of charge, and 28.8% showed willingness to use takeout containers whether they are free or not.
Japan looks to learn from the past with bid to build Australian warships
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami frigate, of the class of the same name, is anchored at the MSDF's naval base in the city of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in September 2022.
Amid rising world hunger, a Japan-inspired group in Kenya is making a big impact
Wawira Njiru, the founder of Food4Education, serves food during the opening of a new kitchen in Mombasa County, Kenya, in 2022. The organization started in 2012 by feeding 25 children out of a single kitchen. Now it feeds nearly half a million every day.
From Tokyo to Manhattan, Takuma Watanabe stirs up a stiff drink
It's taken Takuma Watanabe little time to establish himself as one of New York's hottest bartenders.
For tourists in search of seasonal sights, Yamagata makes its case
For some time away from Tokyo's suffocating urban sameness, Yamagata Prefecture is home to a soothing array of natural abundance.
A slow dive into ‘a moment and an eternity’ with Ryuichi Sakamoto
From the mid-2000s onward, Ryuichi Sakamoto created a number of installation works, often in collaboration with Shiro Takatani, of multimedia art collective Dumb Type.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go
By Kazuaki Nagata and Richard Meyer

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’
SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER