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February 23, 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.
As peckish deer chase delighted tourists in Japan's temple-dotted Nara Park, a quiet but dedicated team of litter-pickers patrols the stone paths, collecting plastic waste that threatens the animals' health.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 15, 2025
New street patrol helps Nara's deer clean up their act
Garbage dropped by tourists can pose a serious risk to Nara's famous deer, but a new group is cleaning up the town.
Katsumi Shinagawa prepares to shred cabbage to serve with pork cutlet dishes at the restaurant Katsukichi in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 24, 2025
Climate change cooks up Japanese 'cabbage shock'
It is the latest pain point for shoppers and eateries in Japan already squeezed by inflation.
Teruko Nakazawa, a retired unpaid parole officer (back), talks with her former parolee in the smoking room of a cafe in Tokyo. Around 47,000 citizen volunteers far outnumber the 1,000 salaried probation officers working in Japan.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 23, 2025
Japan's unpaid parole officers are driven by a 'love for humanity'
The around 47,000 citizen volunteers far outnumber the 1,000 salaried probation officers in Japan.
Masahiro Nakai in Tokyo in October 2017
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2025
TV networks drop Japan boy band star over sex allegations
Reports say that Masahiro Nakai, a former member of SMAP, paid a woman a lump sum of ¥90 million.
Nippon Steel had touted the takeover of U.S. Steel as a lifeline for a company that is long past its heyday, but opponents warned that the Japanese owners would slash jobs.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2025
Ishiba warns blocked U.S. Steel deal could impact investments
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that U.S. President Joe Biden's decision had sparked worries over future Japanese investments in the world's largest economy.
Environmental activist Paul Watson waves after getting released from prison in Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2024
Japan 'regrets' release of anti-whaling activist Paul Watson
The 74-year-old Canadian-American activist was released after Copenhagen turned down Tokyo's request to bring him to Japan.
Before (top) and after images of the regrowth of a tooth in a ferret (center top and bottom) and mice (right and left)
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 13, 2024
Japanese researchers test pioneering drug to regrow teeth
Tests on mice and ferrets suggest that blocking a protein called USAG-1 can awaken a third set of teeth.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves concurrently as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, makes a speech at a campaign event for the Lower House election, in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 26, 2024
In tight Japan election, candidates make last-ditch appeals
Opinion polls have suggested the ruling bloc might fall short of a majority, delivering a potentially devastating blow to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Visitors enter a haunted house at the Namjatown indoor theme park in Tokyo on July 30.
LIFE / Travel
Aug 7, 2024
Japanese beat the heat in 'liver-chilling' haunted houses
A visit to a haunted house is seen as a refreshing respite in Japan from the summer's heat and humidity.
People holds a banner saying "Protect children from joint custody after divorce" during a rally outside the parliament building in Tokyo in March.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 25, 2024
Gender gap fuels disputes as Japan gets joint custody
The change has proved polarizing in a country where campaigners say sole custody acts as a bulwark against forms of domestic abuse.
Then Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada speaks at a news conference at the State Department in Washington in January 2023.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2024
Japan lawmakers create group to investigate UFO security 'threat'
The nonpartisan group, which counts former defense ministers among its 80-plus members, will urge Japan to ramp up abilities to detect and analyze UFOs.
People take selfies at a pop-up shop for the Japanese volleyball manga series "Haikyu!!" in Tokyo on April 19. Men's volleyball is flying high in Japan with the national team ranked fourth globally ahead of the Paris Olympics.
CULTURE / Books
May 22, 2024
'Haikyu!!': Comic heroes fuel Olympic volleyball manga mania in Japan
"Haikyu!!" has sold 60 million copies since its 2012 inception, and has been turned into an anime series and a film.
Toyota said its group net profit in the fiscal year that ended in March nearly doubled from the previous year to hit a record high, due to robust sales of hybrid vehicles.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2024
Toyota posts record net profit on weak yen and strong hybrid sales
The carmaker saw a 31% jump in sales of hybrid vehicles, bringing the total to 3.7 million, while sales of purely electric cars were 116,500.
Ryohei Suzuki is plays assassin and detective Ryo Saeba in a new live-action "City Hunter" remake from Netflix.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 25, 2024
'City Hunter' manga hero drops the sexism for new live-action film
Lead actor Ryohei Suzuki says production had to strike a balance between his character's reputation and modern sensibilities.
A traditional Ainu preserved food called satchep (dried fish) is made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, in December.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2024
Japan court denies fishing rights to Ainu people
It was the first court decision on Indigenous rights related to Ainu people.
People exit the platform at a train station along the Yamanote Line in Tokyo in 1986. A time-traveling TV comedy with a bawdy middle-aged hero from the era has become a big hit in Japan, juxtaposing brash 1980s attitudes with the more politically correct present day.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 29, 2024
Satire TV show strikes a generation-spanning chord in Japan
"Extremely Inappropriate" uses a time-traveling protagonist to humorously highlight the gap between attitudes of the 1980s and the 2020s.
A man, who said he was jailed for two years, speaks on condition of anonymity in temporary housing for former prisoners in Tokyo. Criminal recruits in Japan are being "exploited and disposed of as pawns" by gang leaders, the National Police Agency has said.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 24, 2023
Why Japan's gangs are recruiting online
For Japan's criminal underworld, social media offers an anonymous way to connect with anyone willing to commit crimes to earn money.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 15, 2023
Japan women prisoners suffer serious abuse: Human Rights Watch
Handcuffs during pregnancy, separation from newborn babies and insufficient care for elderly inmates are among the abuses suffered, the rights group said.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2023
Japan boosts fishing sector aid after Fukushima water release
The increased aid comes as more than 100 fishermen and locals living near Fukushima prepare to file a lawsuit this week seeking to stop the discharge.
From June to August, Japan's weather agency recorded "considerably higher" average summer temperatures in "northern, eastern, and western Japan."
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2023
Record shattered as Japan sees hottest summer ever
From June to August, the weather agency recorded "considerably higher" average summer temperatures in "northern, eastern, and western Japan."
Japan's Prince Hisahito to hold first news conference on March 3
Prince Hisahito heads to greet the Emperor and Empress on the occasion of his 18th birthday in Tokyo on Sep. 6.
Special website created 30 years after Tokyo subway sarin attack
Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by Aum Shinrikyo, the Public Security Intelligence Agency launched a special website Friday.
LDP and opposition lock horns over Japan budget
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in parliament on Friday
Japanese nationals returned from Myanmar as scam probe continues
Multinational victims of scam centers, who were allegedly trafficked into working in Myanmar and were sent to Thailand on Feb. 12 amid a mounting crackdown on scam centers operating along a porous border, queue to get food at a shelter in Tak province, Thailand, on Wednesday.
As Ukraine rift emerges, Kyiv's envoy says Japan must take on bigger global role
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky speaks during an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown ready to sprint past Paris disappointment
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (center) runs during a 100-meter heat at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, 2024.
What is the ceiling for sumo’s newest yokozuna?
Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
‘Yasuko, Songs of Days Past’ puts overlooked star in the spotlight
“Yasuko, Songs of Days Past” centers on a real-life love triangle between poet Chuya Nakahara (Taisei Kido, left), actor Yasuko Hasegawa (Suzu Hirose, center) and literary critic Hideo Kobayashi (Masaki Okada).

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