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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
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 8, 2018
Worn to be wild: Tokkōfuku combat uniforms
Tracing its origins back to the heady days of motorcycle gangs in the 1970s, the style is making a comeback with youth in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 7, 2018
Campaigning begins for LDP leadership election
Official campaigning for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election kicks off, setting in motion a two-week race widely predicted to give Prime Minister Shinzo Abe three more years in office.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 3, 2018
Abe vows to lead fight against protectionism at LDP pre-election rally
As the world witnesses the imposition of retaliatory tariffs by some of the world's largest economies, Japan “must not be an introvert,” the prime minister said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2018
Seiko Noda rules herself out of LDP leadership vote but mulls creating her own party faction
Noda again postponed her long-shot bid to replace Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as the nation's first female leader.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2018
Tokyo protests Beijing's exclusion of Sankei Shimbun reporter from covering diplomatic meeting
The ban runs counter to Japan's support for “basic human rights, including freedom of expression, and the rule of law,” the government's top spokesman said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2018
Bad news for students: Completed homework assignments are no longer for sale
It's the last week of August, when children who have spent their entire summer vacation slacking off suddenly realize with daunting dismay that they have piles of book reports and diaries left untouched, not to mention an art project they were supposed to start weeks ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2018
North Korea expels detained Japanese tourist as neighbors' hot-and-cold relationship continues
Man who allegedly broke the law during a recent tour of the country was freed on humanitarian grounds, according the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 21, 2018
Contest between Abe and Ishiba, to lead Japan and ruling LDP, set for Sept. 20
Poll predicted to give Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a historic third term as LDP president, effectively extending his hold on power by up to another three years.
WORLD
Aug 17, 2018
Fox News presenter Ainsley Earhardt makes 'communist Japan' gaffe
Fox News presenter Ainsley Earhardt on Thursday mistakenly stated that the U.S. defeated "communist Japan" in an impassioned criticism of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who had said America "was never that great."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2018
Emperor repeats phrase 'deep remorse' in his last official war-end anniversary speech
In his last official appearance at the annual ceremony commemorating the end of World War II, Emperor Akihito repeated his expression of “deep remorse” over the conflict.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 13, 2018
Olympic heat wave fears: What steps can Tokyo take?
Japan has become well-known for its omotenashi (hospitality), with the concept being part of Tokyo's pitch when it bid to host the 2020 Olympics.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 6, 2018
Bid to challenge Abe for LDP presidency faces 'thorny path,' Seiko Noda says
The internal affairs minister admitted Monday that she is concerned about her candidacy because her eligibility is still in doubt, describing it as “a tough situation.”
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2018
Japanese journalist missing in Syria likely man in IS-style video: government
The government says the man in a video released by apparent militants is likely Japanese journalist Jumpei Yasuda, who is believed to have been kidnapped in Syria in 2015.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jul 27, 2018
Thousands rally to protest LDP lawmaker Mio Sugita's remark calling LGBT people 'unproductive'
Thousands of angry protesters rallied on Friday night in front of the headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, calling for the resignation of junior lawmaker Mio Sugita, who had earlier branded the nation's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community "unproductive."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 27, 2018
Untangling Japan's curious support for Cambodia's 'undemocratic' election
As democracies across the globe distance themselves from Cambodia's general election, widely slammed as a sham, Japan has conspicuously gone out of its way to recognize it. Its apparent motive: win back the heart of Prime Minister Hun Sen as the Cambodian leader cozies up to China.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 26, 2018
Aum executions reignite debate over Japan's death penalty
Thursday's executions of six Aum Shinrikyo cultists — the second set of hangings this month following the executions of seven on July 6 — have reignited debate over the nation's death penalty system, marked by its opacity and the absence of prior notice to the public, while some continue to back...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2018
LDP lawmaker Mio Sugita faces backlash after describing LGBT people as 'unproductive'
A ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker has drawn a fierce backlash after labeling the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community "unproductive" in terms of childbirth, and warning that a society that accepts same-sex relationships risks "increasing unhappy people."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 20, 2018
As Diet wraps up, Abe re-emerges as front-runner for LDP election
As recently as spring, the Abe administration was in disarray, weakened by what appeared to be an unstoppable flow of scandals and missteps.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 18, 2018
Japan's watered-down smoking ban clears Diet
Lighting up in public facilities prohibited for the first time as the nation scrambles to combat secondhand smoke in the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2018
Casinos in Japan: Tourist attractions or hotbeds of gambling addiction?
As the year's ordinary Diet session nears a climax this week, debate is heating up over a bill Prime Minister Shinzo Abe characterizes as key to his growth strategy: the so-called casino implementation legislation.

Longform

Father's Day is said to have come to Japan around 1950, shortly after the establishment of Mother's Day.
The evolving nature of fatherhood in Japan