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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 / Society
Mar 18, 2015
Rights groups stage racism summit for embassy staff
Ethnic minorities and other socially vulnerable members of Japanese society gathered Wednesday to relate their stories of racial discrimination to embassy representatives in an effort to raise global awareness of their plight and fight racism.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 17, 2015
Syrian asylum seekers sue for refugee status
Four asylum seekers from strife-riven Syria sued the central government at the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday, demanding that they be recognized as refugees.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2015
Aum foes review '95 sarin attack ahead of 20th anniversary
As Japan readies for the 20th anniversary this week of the deadly terrorist attack perpetrated by doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo on Tokyo's subway system, a number of those who fought the cult in its heyday gathered Saturday to reflect on their missteps in handling the crisis — and renew their vow to...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Mar 12, 2015
Conservatives lash out at Shibuya Ward initiative to recognize same-sex relationships
Conservatives are protesting a proposed initiative by Tokyo's Shibuya Ward to acknowledge same-sex partnerships as equivalent to marriage, claiming it would upset traditional family values and hurt the nation's birthrate.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2015
Asylum seekers in Japan soared to record level in 2014
The number of people seeking asylum in Japan jumped 53 percent in 2014 to a record 5,000, but only 11 were officially recognized.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 3/11 STILL BEING FELT
Mar 10, 2015
Survivors speak of grief, guilt and life after the tsunami
Every afternoon, elderly residents at a temporary housing complex in the city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, sit around a table for a few hours of lighthearted chitchat. They update each other on how they feel, talk about TV shows they saw the night before and laugh at each other's jokes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 9, 2015
Four Syrian asylum seekers to sue for refugee status
Four asylum seekers from conflict-ridden Syria will soon initiate a lawsuit against the central government to seek official refugee status, the first from their nation to do so.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2015
Fuji TV removes blackface segment after outcry
Anti-racist campaigners are celebrating a decision by Fuji TV to remove from a weekly music show a segment that purportedly showed performers sporting blackface makeup.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 9, 2015
Tohoku pins rebound hopes to atom smasher
As the disaster-hit Tohoku region struggles to recover from the deadly tsunami four years ago, many residents have hopes for what is considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to galvanize the area's resurrection.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2015
Foreign nurses, caregivers to get special visa status
The Cabinet approves the creation of a new visa category for foreign nurses and caregivers to help reduce the labor shortage in the industry.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 27, 2015
Most Tokyo wards less keen on recognizing same-sex unions
Most of Tokyo's wards are hesitant to propose or consider certificates that would declare same-sex unions as equivalent to marriage, The Japan Times finds.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2015
Nonprofit's manga raises awareness of teen sexual exploitation in Japan
A Tokyo-based nonprofit organization is publishing manga booklets Monday that aim to safeguard juveniles from what it calls the increasingly serious reality of teen sexual exploitation in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2015
Outrage grows over Sono 'apartheid' column
Public outrage over what is widely seen as a pro-apartheid column penned by conservative author Ayako Sono shows no sign of abating more than a week after its publication.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2015
Discount chain Don Quijote to accept payment in foreign currencies
The service represents the retailer's latest attempt to cater to foreign tourists, which it says are becoming an increasingly important part of its customer base.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2015
Second Tokyo ward speaks of action on same-sex unions
The mayor of Setagaya has suggested his ward may seek to recognize same-sex unions, days after neighboring Shibuya district announced it would vote on the issue.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Feb 15, 2015
Mainstream Japanese society slowly working to accommodate sexual minorities
When she was in her teens, Yumiko Higuchi was suicidal.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2015
'No Game' campaign misfires in Hokkaido
A 'No Game' campaign led by educators in Hokkaido backfires after being taken as an attempt to label video games as harmful.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2015
Author Sono calls for racial segregation in op-ed piece
A prominent author and former government adviser calls for Japan to adopt a system to force immigrants to live separately from Japanese in zones based on race.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2015
Shibuya Ward plans vote on same-sex marriage
One of the capital's 23 wards proposes issuing certificates that would declare same-sex relationships 'equivalent to marriage.'
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2015
Immigration detention centers like prisons, U.K. inspectors say
When British incarceration inspection expert Hindpal Singh Bhui last month paid his first visit to a Japanese immigration detention center, his overriding initial impression was that it looked like a prison.

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