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July 05, 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
May 1, 2013
Fake school uniforms let some turn back the clock
A 17-year-old high school boy in Tokyo likes to hang out with his friends on weekends sporting a blazer and white shirt, the typical uniform of high school boys — not his casual clothes or his school-designated "gakuran" high-collar jacket.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 26, 2013
Two inmates hanged for yakuza slayings
Two inmates are executed for conspiring to gun down two rival yakuza at a restaurant in Chiba in 2005.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2013
'Sayonara Speed Tribes': Documentary chronicles disappearing world of bosozoku
Once a symbol of a burgeoning postwar counterculture, the bōsōzoku are fading. Gone are the days when gangs of bikers would zoom through neighborhoods with daredevil temerity.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 13, 2013
Final Somali pirate slapped with 11-year term
The Tokyo District Court on Friday convicted a Somali national and sentenced him to 11 years imprisonment for attempting to hijack a Japan-operated oil tanker off the coast of Oman in March 2011.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2013
Yokohama errs, tweets launch alert
The Yokohama Municipal Government mistakenly alerted its Twitter followers Wednesday morning that North Korea had launched a missile, only to apologize 20 minutes later for the error.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 5, 2013
Six museums collaborate for show on contemporary European art
This weekend, six Kansai-based national museums will come together to showcase a broad array of works from their contemporary European collections.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2013
Cool Japan campaign needs to sweeten the pot: Taiwanese critic
The government should take the initiative to promote made-in-Japan Western confectionery overseas as a part of its Cool Japan campaign, Kin Bi-leng, a well-known Taiwanese critic based in Japan, said Wednesday during a government-hosted meeting to discuss promotional strategies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 4, 2013
"Ainu Crafts: Patterns with a Prayer"
Ainu are the aboriginal people of Hokkaido, who have a history characterized by years of deprivation and forced cultural assimilation. In the face of such hardships, the Ainu believed in the omnipresent existence of God in their everyday life, which long ago led them to worship almost everything around...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 4, 2013
"Francis Alys"
Mexico-based artist Francis Alys has drawn global attention with his repeated acts of insanity — such as venturing into the middle of a tropical storm that sweeps through Mexico City each March to photograph what was happening inside, or pushing a massive piece of ice through the public streets in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 4, 2013
"Showa Memorial: Atae Yuki"
Doll maker Yuki Atae had just turned 8 when World War II ended in 1945. He remembers spending his childhood being surrounded by people with great resilience, and as an artist he began reproducing models of his old neighborhood using dolls. He is especially fond of reminiscing about local children, who,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 28, 2013
'Ujino Pop/Life'
Muneteru Ujino is renowned for his "sound sculptures" — art objects for which sound is integral. He often experiments with home appliances such as lamps and electric drills, and his combination of art and music has led to comparisons with Luigi Russollo, the Italian painter and composer whose experimental...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 28, 2013
'Shohachi Kimura'
Shohachi Kimura (1893-1958) developed an early interest in foreign novels and other facets of Western culture. He first aspired to become a writer, but changed his mind at age 18 to pursue art and painting. Still interested in literature, however, he often contributed illustrations to novels.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Mar 24, 2013
Being a zombie is a no-brainer for this Japanese actress
Unlike many of her prim-and-proper friends at Shirayuri College — a Catholic school in Kanda, Tokyo — 20-year-old Akane Kanbayashi doesn't recoil at the sight of splattered blood and dismembered human bodies.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Mar 22, 2013
G-tokyo art fair makes a change
This year, four-year-old art fair G-tokyo boasts that it will turn over a new leaf with some radical changes.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 21, 2013
'Kunio Okawara: Mechanic Design'
Kunio Okawara's robot designs have appeared in many widely loved Japanese anime series, including "Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman," ("Science Ninja Team Gatchaman") and "Kido Senshi Gandamu" ("First Gundam").
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 21, 2013
'The Great Journey'
"Great journey" is how British archaeologist Brian M. Fagan described the early migration of homo sapiens some 200,000 years ago from Africa to the rest of the world and their progression to become a dominant species.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 21, 2013
'Sakubei Yamamoto: Documentary Illustrations of the Coal Mining Industry'
Sakubei Yamamoto (1892-1984) grew up in Fukuoka Prefecture's Chikuho region, which was once one of Japan's most prolific coal-mining areas. He devoted his life to the mining industry, and when he retired he took up painting as a way to memorialize his experience, just as the importance of coal began...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 15, 2013
Film festival focuses on Osaka
Of all the films the late actress Isuzu Yamada starred in, none of them better symbolized the vicissitudes of her real life than the 1936 "Naniwa Ereji (Naniwa Elegy)."
CULTURE / Art
Mar 14, 2013
'The Vision of Contemporary Art 2013'
The Vision of Contemporary Art annual competition, which has run for 20 years, aims to nurture young Japanese artists and help promote their work internationally.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 14, 2013
'Cross Sections Chronicle @ MoMAK 1963-2013'
The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, was established with the aim of focusing on Kyoto's crafts and industries. It has remained true to its philosophy, hosting events and exhibitions featuring local artisans.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

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