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May 15, 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.
For Tomoko Otake's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
JAPAN
May 15, 2002
Pricey Chiyoda Ward offers housing subsidies
In stark contrast to Koto Ward's moves to curb its rising population, Chiyoda Ward last month began offering rent subsidies to eligible residents.
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
May 12, 2002
Former top executive attempts to save Japan Inc. with ethics
What is the root cause of corporate failure?
JAPAN
May 9, 2002
McDonald's joins stampede toward personalized marketing
Ltd. revealed its plans to launch a new e-shopping venture targeting users of cellular phones and personal computers. While the e-business entry by the fast-food giant underscores the huge potential of the sector, some experts believe consumers need to be aware that greater convenience carries with it privacy risks.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 8, 2002
Info brokers have got your number, among other things
In the spring of 1999, Haruo Tanaka (not his real name) became interested in buying a condominium and visited several showrooms in Tokyo. Each time, he was asked to fill out a questionnaire. He provided his name, age, address and phone number as well as his annual income.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 3, 2002
Vacated banks seeing new tenants
At an intersection in Tokyo's Nihonbashi financial district, a wholesale supermarket with a bright yellow sign and outdoor fruit bins draws the curious eyes of people passing by.
Japan Times
JAPAN / WORKING IT OUT
Feb 5, 2002
Are 'freeters' result of slump, source of next one?
Tomoko Noguchi, 22, got her first bar hostess job about three years ago, while studying to become an aesthetician at a vocational school.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2001
Pediatrics strained to breaking point
It was just after midnight one recent weekend in the emergency room of Showa University Hospital in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. Pediatrician Katsura Sugihara was treating his 12th patient of the night, when the phone rang.
JAPAN / READERS' FUND
Dec 13, 2001
Afghan aid groups persevere despite danger
Prospects for the upcoming winter in Afghanistan were bleak enough before Sept. 11, as years of drought destroyed crops and drove millions of people toward famine.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2001
Readers reach out with fund
Total contributions to The Japan Times Readers' Fund in 2000 came to 3,401,372 yen.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2001
Author draws strength from illness to warn of market crisis
A life-threatening illness often focuses a person's mind on the meaning of life. For writer Main Kohda, the fear she may have developed cancer changed her life.
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2001
Web gossip sparks corporate anger
Two major life insurers were battered by a swirl of rumors in September as several message boards on a popular Web site began predicting their demise.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2001
New Yorker sends paper cranes home
An American teacher at an international school in Niigata is helping New Yorkers heal from the shock of last month's terrorist attacks by sending letters, artwork and paper cranes from local residents to schools throughout Manhattan.
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2001
Financial impact of terrorist attacks to be limited, expert says
The long-term effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. on the global economy and financial markets will be limited, despite the negative sentiment prevailing at many bourses, according to a former Tokyo branch manager for J.P. Morgan.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2001
Top U.N. official criticizes Japan's plan to cut back on ODA
Japan's plan to cut back on official development assistance will worsen the nation's economic prospects by shrinking the volume of trade it enjoys with the rest of the world, a high-ranking official of the United Nations Development Program said.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2001
Writer bucks corporate norm
Writer Hamao Yokota seems to enjoy portraying an eccentric image.
JAPAN
Dec 7, 2000
Priest on quest for schools in Cambodia
Fumio Goto never imagined that he would end up helping to build schools in Cambodia when he first accepted refugees from the country in 1981.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2000
New law means marching orders for bad tenants
Motokazu Miyama's big fear is one probably shared by hundreds of thousands of other property-owners in Japan: What if unwelcome tenants refuse to leave after the apartment lease expires?
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2000
UNICEF ambassador blames politics for plight of children
In 17 years as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi has seen the worst of what could happen to children around the world.
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2000
Japanese seen embracing a risky future
At 30, Tetsushi Nakamura is a seasoned stock investor. The system engineer from Hibarigaoka, Saitama Prefecture, got his hands on stocks when he was in his fourth year of elementary school, buying shares of a construction company on his dad's advice.
BUSINESS
Jul 18, 2000
BOJ decision said to be ambiguous
The Bank of Japan's decision Monday to leave the "zero-interest-rate" policy unchanged did not surprise many, given the shock financial markets received from the virtual bankruptcy last week of department store operator Sogo Co.
Japanese stripper bids to have her porn movies taken off internet
Plaintiff Miyuki Ariga (left) speaks at a news conference along with her lawyer, Yoshitomo Morohashi, after filing a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday.
Yen’s fragility raises specter of a new currency war in Asia
Suspected intervention to drag the yen off a 34-year low against the dollar is already seen as unlikely to have a lasting effect if Japan continues alone.
Ishin struggles to set itself apart from other parties
Nippon Ishin no Kai Secretary-General Fumitake Fujita (right) speaks beside Yui Kanazawa, the party's candidate in the Tokyo 15th district by-election on April 28. Nippon Ishin lost in this by-election as well as another in Nagasaki held on the same day.
Online booking for Mount Fuji climb to open on May 20
Visitors climb the slopes of Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak at 3,776 meters. From May 20, climbers will have access to a new online booking system for Mount Fuji's most popular Yoshida trail in Yamanashi Prefecture.
In Japan, 68,000 people over 65 projected to die alone at home this year
As Japan grapples with its population's rapid aging, supporting people who live and age alone is looming larger on the policy agenda.
Ishin struggles to set itself apart from other parties
Nippon Ishin no Kai Secretary-General Fumitake Fujita (right) speaks beside Yui Kanazawa, the party's candidate in the Tokyo 15th district by-election on April 28. Nippon Ishin lost in this by-election as well as another in Nagasaki held on the same day.
In Japan, 68,000 people over 65 projected to die alone at home this year
As Japan grapples with its population's rapid aging, supporting people who live and age alone is looming larger on the policy agenda.
In a rare event, the Northern Lights show up in Hokkaido
The Northern Lights in Nayoro, Hokkaido, on Saturday
Is black the new green for Japan’s flagging tea farmers?
George Guttridge-Smith brews tea at Kyoto Obubu Tea Farm in Wazuka, Kyoto Prefecture, where he serves as head of international development.
How the discovery of a giant sword in Nara offers clues into ancient Japan
Archaeologists say a 1,600-year-old wooden coffin at the Tomio Maruyama tumulus in the city of Nara was kept in good condition probably because it was protected by a layer of clay and copper ions that had seeped out of the mirrors that were buried together.

Podcast

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