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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.

LIFE / Lifestyle

Dec 14, 2019

A cut above the rest: A new generation of barbers is trying to overcome an image problem

A group of men sporting tattoos and smoking cigarettes chats casually on benches outside Mr. Brothers Cut Club in Tokyo's trendy Harajuku neighborhood.

Japan Times

BUSINESS / Companies

Dec 6, 2019

Defying local skepticism and 'Tokyo first' mentality, Science Park thrives in rural Yamagata

When Keio University professor Masaru Tomita accepted an offer in 2000 to head a new science lab in the city of Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture, his fellow researchers — shocked at what they evidently considered his relegation to the countryside — warned him that his career was done for.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Dec 6, 2019

Stores in Japan Environment Ministry building to stop handing out plastic bags

Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Friday that his ministry has stopped distributing plastic bags at all shops inside its government building, taking what he touted as a trailblazing step toward reducing plastic waste.

JAPAN

Nov 8, 2019

'Nagoya passing' no more? Aichi pins hopes on expo center to bring in big names and tourism

Avid fans of all-girl pop act AKB48 braved a persistent drizzle outside Aichi Sky Expo on a recent Saturday morning, forming a long queue as they waited for a "handshaking" session with the group's idols to kick off.

JAPAN

Nov 8, 2019

Japan school boards start to rethink 'black rules' on everything from underwear to protesting

Japan's teaching culture prizes conformity and docility, but the public is apparently getting fed up with the suffocating rules imposed to achieve that.

JAPAN / Politics

Oct 16, 2019

Shinjiro Koizumi's 'sexy' fight against climate change is untranslatable, Japan's government says

The government was forced to make sense of Koizumi's recent vow to make Japan's fight against climate change “sexy” after an opposition lawmaker requested an official interpretation of his remarks.

JAPAN / Society

Oct 15, 2019

Wakayama curry killings revisited: Kin of convicted killer Masumi Hayashi break silence after 21 years

On a recent summer evening, tranquility reigned in this small neighborhood in Wakayama, where nothing but the occasional barking of dogs and chirring of grasshoppers broke the peaceful silence.

JAPAN

Oct 11, 2019

Massive Typhoon Hagibis bears down on central Japan

Railways and supermarkets in the danger zone plan to suspend or curtail operations for most of Saturday, when the unusually powerful storm is projected to hit.

JAPAN

Sep 24, 2019

Shinjiro Koizumi faces baptism of fire in Japan as criticisms of style over substance pile up

In the two weeks since joining the Cabinet, Koizumi has seen his populist rhetoric increasingly turn into a liability, earning him criticism and ridicule on social media.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse

Sep 21, 2019

Student succeeds at failing to start work on his summer homework

For elementary school children in Japan, their weeks-long summer vacation isn't entirely a time for leisure. Instead, it's overshadowed by a stack of homework that features, among other things, an assignment known as jiyū kenkyū (independent project).

JAPAN

Sep 6, 2019

Pressured by its struggling finances, Yokohama goes all in on casino bid

On a recent afternoon, Yamashita Park in Yokohama's waterfront was teeming with visitors — from lovey-dovey young couples to picnicking families and foreign tourists taking selfies in front of the ocean liner Hikawamaru, a museum ship permanently moored at the park.

JAPAN

Sep 4, 2019

Tokyo pushes bill obliging cyclists to have liability insurance amid rise in accidents

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government submitted an amendment that would oblige cyclists to purchase liability insurance following a series of bicycle accidents in which pedestrians were severely injured.

JAPAN

Sep 3, 2019

Japan's Shukan Post apologizes after being blasted for discrimination toward South Koreans

A weekly magazine's editorial department has apologized for what has been widely slammed as discriminatory coverage of South Koreans, with the magazine having branded them as pathologically quick-tempered and insisted that Tokyo cut ties with Seoul because the neighbor is "troublesome."

JAPAN

Aug 21, 2019

Japan earthquake task force to redesign hazard maps to aid people with color vision deficiencies

A government task force focused on earthquake research intends to redesign its hazard maps to make it easier for those with color vision deficiencies to identify risks, an official said Wednesday.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Society

Aug 18, 2019

Silent heroes: Sign language interpreters give voice to Japan's top government spokesman

Kohei Ehara sits quietly in the far corner of the spacious conference room in the Prime Minister's Office, largely unnoticed by a group of reporters waiting for Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga to start his daily briefing.

Japan Times

BUSINESS

Aug 16, 2019

As population ages, Japan's convenience stores find future in funerals

It might escape the notice of a passerby that Davius Living Yamato, a one-story building standing unassumingly on a street in Kanagawa Prefecture, is a funeral parlor.

JAPAN / Politics

Aug 1, 2019

Opposition lawmakers with severe disabilities make Upper House debut after steps taken toward creating barrier-free Diet

A special five-day Diet session following the July 21 Upper House election kicked off Thursday, marking a momentous occasion for two opposition lawmakers with severe disabilities, who entered the Diet building for the first time.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Politics

Jul 22, 2019

Abe vows to push forward constitutional change despite failure of pro-revision forces to win Upper House supermajority

In a post-election news conference, Abe said his longtime goal isn't out of reach and he will to try to compromise with those working against him.

JAPAN / Politics

Jul 22, 2019

Abe's ruling coalition victorious, but pro-revision forces suffer electoral setback in drive to amend Constitution

To many voters, the election was a chance to endorse or repudiate the Abe administration's performance since he returned to power in December 2012.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Politics

Jul 18, 2019

With pacifist Constitution at stake, apathy reigns in Japan ahead of Upper House election

Politically speaking, the upcoming Upper House election is a huge deal for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. After all, it's a vote that could determine the fate of his long-held ambition to amend the postwar pacifist Constitution.

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

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