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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 / Politics
Dec 20, 2019
Working mom fights the odds to become sole female LDP lawmaker in Kyushu
On a recent chilly November morning, aspiring politician Maiko Takahashi was undergoing a trial by fire as she stumped for just the second time in her life, addressing an ebb and flow of commuters near Oita Station.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 17, 2019
From bad to worse: Japan slides 11 places to 121st in global gender equality ranking
The nation's attempts to create “a society in which women shine” are falling well short of its G7 peers and much of the rest of the world.
Japan Times
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 Times
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 Times
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 Times
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 Times
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 Times
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 Times
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 Times
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 Times
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 Times
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 Times
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 Times
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.

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