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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 / GENERATIONAL CHANGE

Aug 31, 2014

Rebel entrepreneur turns job market on its head

Yujun Wakashin seeks to present an alternative lifestyle that he hopes will serve as a wake-up call for dropouts, shut-ins and underutilized hopefuls such as high school girls.

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

Aug 29, 2014

Takefuji arsonist, ex-yakuza hanged for eight murders

A would-be robber who torched five Takefuji employees in 2001 and a yakuza who gunned down three people from 2001 to 2005 are executed for murder.

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

Aug 28, 2014

Pop star Aska pleads guilty to drug charges

Prosecutors demand a three-year term for singer Shigeaki Miyazaki, the disgraced pop star better known as Aska, as his trial over illegal drug use opens in Tokyo.

JAPAN

Aug 21, 2014

Harasser of manga author draws maximum sentence

The unrepentant man driven by jealousy to repeatedly threaten the author of a popular basketball manga gets a 4 1/2-year prison term, the longest allowed.

JAPAN

Aug 20, 2014

U.S. ice bucket challenge picked up by Japan's movers and shakers

A U.S.-based social media challenge daring people to douse themselves with buckets of ice water spreads to Japan, with celebrities from billionaire Masayoshi Son to singer Ayumi Hamasaki taking up the gauntlet to boost awareness of what is known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Aug 19, 2014

Tokyu Corp. taps foreign students to help make Shibuya more tourist-friendly

Railway operator and real estate developer Tokyu Corp. has kicked off a nightly seminar during which some of its employees will live with foreign exchange students for two weeks, and discuss how to make Shibuya "the world's most fascinating tourist spot."

Japan Times

JAPAN

Aug 18, 2014

Visa overstayers launch campaign for 'legalization'

A group of visa overstayers launched a month-long campaign Monday in which they will ask 36 local assemblies in the Kanto region for special permission to remain in the country legally.

JAPAN

Aug 14, 2014

Free Hug activist hopes to mend fences in Asia

It was August 2011 when Koichi Kuwabara hit the streets of Seoul with a mission in mind.

Japan Times

JAPAN / CHILDREN LEFT BEHIND

Aug 7, 2014

Foster parent shortage takes growing toll on children

Veteran foster parent Mika Hobbs was surprisingly frank when she confessed how nerve-racking her job can be.

JAPAN

Aug 6, 2014

Manga shop threatens to post face of alleged shoplifter on Internet

A well-known “otaku” shop in Tokyo is threatening to post an alleged shoplifter's face online if he doesn't return what he stole.

JAPAN

Aug 4, 2014

Remarks on Studio Ghibli's 'dismantling' sows confusion

English-language bloggers were quick to react Monday to remarks made by Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki about 'dismantling' the studio's animation production department.

JAPAN / EXPLAINER

Aug 4, 2014

Courts, U.N. shine spotlight on hate speech in Japan

Rarely in the history of Japan have public concerns over hate speech appeared so intense and widespread as today.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jul 29, 2014

Tohoku University evicts 105 students from dorm over drinking

Fed up with a litany of poor behavior by drunken students, Tou00adhou00adku University in Miu00adyau00adgi Prefecture has decided to take the unusually harsh step of evicting all 105 residents from a school dorm by the end of September.

JAPAN / Crime & Legal / Q&A

Jul 25, 2014

A closer look at the Supreme Court's welfare benefits ruling

Opinions are divided over how the Supreme Court ruling last week declaring permanent foreign residents of Japan ineligible for welfare payments will affect the foreign communities in Japan.

JAPAN

Jul 20, 2014

Few biting so far on special visa for workers

Indefinite stay, ramped-up privileges so far failing to attract highly skilled foreign workers said to be key to the nation's economic revival.

JAPAN / Society

Jul 19, 2014

Welfare ruling stuns foreigners

The Supreme Court's landmark decision that permanent foreign residents of Japan are not entitled to welfare benefits will discourage municipalities from doling out such aid.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

Jul 19, 2014

Vagina artist wins release, urges public to challenge taboos

An artist arrested for distributing 3-D data of her vagina online urged the public to outgrow the perception that female genitalia are taboo or shameful, after being released from police custody on Friday.

JAPAN

Jul 18, 2014

Ex-NHK staffers seek Momii's ouster

More than 170 former employees of NHK petition the board of the public broadcaster to urge biased Chairman Katsuto Momii to resign or strip him of power.

JAPAN

Jul 18, 2014

Tanigaki vows internship revamp, foreign-friendly policies

Addressing the foreign press, Justice Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki on Thursday reaffirmed his commitment to revamping the foreign trainee program, which critics say is rife with human rights violations.

JAPAN

Jul 15, 2014

Government-backed innovation initiative looking for 'weirdos'

Tech-savvy "weirdos" are now wanted for an unusual government-sponsored project that seeks to spur innovation by backing people capable of producing "disruptive change" in conservative Japan.

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

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

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