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April 28, 2025
 

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Tomohiro Osaki

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Tomohiro Osaki
Tomohiro Osaki is a staff writer in the Domestic News Division. A graduate of Sophia University in Tokyo, he likes to explore under-reported realities of Japanese youth, with a tendency toward the taboo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2015
Tokyo at high risk of devastating floods, experts say
It's just a matter of time before Tokyo is struck by the same magnitude of flooding that devastated parts of the northern Kanto region this month.
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Sep 20, 2015
Ready or not, government will soon have your My Number
The government claims My Number will make your life easier, but its egalitarian goals will likely eliminate your privacy and invite more abuse of authority by the police, experts say.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Sep 17, 2015
Foreign Joso flood victims hit out at city's monolingual response
One week after an unprecedented flood overwhelmed the city of Joso in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japanese-Brazilian resident David Kiyoshi Shibata believes it's a miracle he's still alive.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 15, 2015
Justice Ministry unveils eased refugee-recognition criteria but critics quick to cry foul
A wide-ranging review will cover everything from accepting more highly skilled non-Japanese workers and revising the foreign trainee program to cracking down harder on visa overstayers.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 9, 2015
Plan to use My Number for tax rebates is flawed, some experts say
The system is set to streamline tax collection and social welfare benefits, but critics warn of privacy issues by using it to also provide sales tax rebates.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 8, 2015
Supreme Court rules hibakusha overseas are entitled to full medical expenses
A landmark decision means thousands of atomic bomb survivors living outside of Japan will get full health coverage.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2015
Ministry proposes overhaul of immigration, asylum policies
The nation will try to lure additional highly skilled foreign professionals and exchange students as part of a drive to stimulate the stagnant economy, according to the latest draft of an immigration policy review compiled by the Justice Ministry.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2015
Thousands protest Abe, security bills at Diet rally
In one of the strongest signs of public frustration over controversial security bills likely to be passed by lawmakers next month, thousands of people surrounded the Diet building Sunday afternoon to protest their enactment and call for the resignation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2015
Students launch hunger strike to protest security bills
Sitting upright across from the Diet building, the protesters say they know their fight against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is going to take a heavy toll on them. But they say they have to do it nonetheless.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2015
Low-cost retailer Shimamura pulls pendant bearing Nazi symbol
Low-cost apparel retailer Shimamura Co., has removed necklaces that resemble a swastika, which was the notorious symbol of the Nazi Party, amid a growing online backlash over the design.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 19, 2015
Immigration crackdown seen as paving the way for state to expel valid visa-holders
After successfully expelling visa overstayers over the past decade, Japan is now shifting its immigration control focus to a new target: people in the country on bogus visas.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 15, 2015
Ministers visit divisive war shrine on 70th anniversary of war end
In a move likely to draw fresh criticism from China and South Korea, three members of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet visited the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine Saturday, the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2015
Emperor voices 'deep remorse' over war at 70th anniversary of surrender; ministers visit Yasukuni
In comments in Tokyo to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Emperor Akihito refers to his u2018deep remorse' over wartime events.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2015
'Ama' divers denounce 'obscene' city mascot, demand its withdrawal
More than 100 ama divers are demanding that the coastal city of Shima, Mie Prefecture, scrap a newly adopted mascot on the grounds that it is obscene.
JAPAN / Society / 70 YEARS AFTER THE WAR'S END
Aug 11, 2015
Offspring have hard time relating hibakusha experience but have same health fears
Facing his fellow survivors of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Atsushi Takeshita begrudgingly announced last month that his group, comprised of about 100 hibakusha, will put an end to more than 60 years of activity because its members are getting too old.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 7, 2015
Lower House OKs recording of suspect questioning
Landmark development in Japan's criminal justice system also includes introduction of a plea bargain system and expanding the use of the wiretap law.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 6, 2015
Hiroshima marks 70th A-bomb anniversary amid fears of pacifism eroding
Commemorations included renewed pledges to abolish nuclear arms and pursue world peace, though some said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's drive to expand the country's military role undercut that sentiment.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2015
In 'historic' shift, night school admission standards are eased in Japan
In a landmark development, the government has dictated a drastic easing of admission requirements for night junior high school, paving the way for victims of childhood abuse and bullying to take the classes again, only this time actually benefitting from them.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2015
Who are you calling a honky? Gaffe-prone Fuji TV stumbles again
Internet users were snorting in derision after participants on a Fuji TV entertainment show wore T-shirts with a bizarre English slogan incorporating a word that some Caucasians might find offensive.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 27, 2015
Child killer memoir 'Zekka' fuels calls for tougher proceeds-of-crime laws in Japan
More than a month after its publication, public outrage over a controversial memoir by a serial killer who targeted children when he was a minor has shown no sign of abating.
China seizes disputed reef near key Philippine military outpost
China Coast Guard officers unfurl a national flag on Sandy Cay reef, near the Philippine-held Thitu Island, in disputed waters of the South China Sea this month in this screen shot taken from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
Japan to resist Trump efforts to form trade bloc against China
As Japan gears up for the trade talks, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is also seeking to cushion the blow that the U.S. tariffs may have on the domestic economy.
As many as nine dead after driver plows into Vancouver festival crowd
An ambulance is parked at the site of the Lapu Lapu day festival, where a vehicle drove into a crowd killing several people in Vancouver on Saturday.
Japan’s legal system struggles to deal with AI-made child sexual abuse images
AI-generated content — including those made using pictures of real people, which are known as “deepfakes” — is not explicitly covered under Japan's current legal framework, nor are human-drawn illustrations that depict child abuse.
How to bring up bad news in Japanese
As in other cultures, when someone shares bad news in Japanese it’s best to respond with supportive words.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
Japan weighs using U.S. rice imports as tariff negotiation tool with Trump
A restaurant owner pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo
Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
Crow meat, goat tartare: Mauvaise Herbe raises its game
Crow meat, shaped into a ball and attached to a foot of the bird, is one of the peculiar offerings of game at Mauvaise Herbe.

Podcast

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

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
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By Tomoko Otake

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