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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
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 Times
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 Times
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.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2014
Composer Sakamoto has cancer, cancels all engagements
Musician Ryuichi Sakamoto announces that he has throat cancer and is canceling all engagements to focus on battling the disease.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 9, 2014
Ministry panel backpedals on promise to revamp justice system
Despite growing criticism of the country's notoriously opaque criminal justice system, a government panel tasked with revamping it has opted not to back the mandatory recording of interrogations.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Jul 7, 2014
Future leader shows promise with African aid work, British schooling, and Japan politics in sight
When Doga Makiura arrived in Rwanda in 2012, the 18-year-old was amazed to find not the stains of the 1994 genocide, but a tidy airport, impressive high-rises and welcoming people.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2014
Timing is everything in SDF's recruitment drive
Most regard it as ironic, but some call it sinister.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / DEALING WITH DEMENTIA
Jul 3, 2014
Early onset dementia poses special problems
Early onset dementia affects people younger than 65, but experts say the belief that dementia only strikes seniors obfuscates the plight suffered by younger patients.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 30, 2014
Cultist Kikuchi gets five years
Aum Shinrikyo fugitive Naoko Kikuchi receives a five-year term for attempted murder in the 1995 Tokyo City Hall bombing but avoids explosives violations charges.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2014
Fiery suicide bid shocks Shinjuku on eve of historic security decision
A man tries to commit suicide by setting himself on fire near JR Shinjuku Station after using a loud speaker to tell hundreds of people why.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 26, 2014
Man who killed three, including kids, hanged
A 68-year-old death row inmate is hanged for killing three people seven years ago, including children, despite growing unease about capital punishment.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2014
Forbes magazine launches Japanese-language version
The respected Forbes business magazine published the first issue of its Japanese-language version Wednesday with the aim of spotlighting Japanese entrepreneurs keen to boost their nation's economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2014
Japan team's 0-0 World Cup draw dismays fans watching from Tokyo
Japanese soccer fans roared in frustration Friday morning after the national team ended its crucial match with Greece with an underwhelming 0-0 draw, making its advance to the second stage of the World Cup highly unlikely, though not impossible.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2014
Tag pushed as an Olympic demo sport
If there is one thing Yasuo and Takao Hazaki feel confident about outdoing any other father-son duo in, it is their intense commitment to the ancient playground game of "onigokko," or team tag.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 19, 2014
Female Your Party member interrupted by sexist heckles
The sexist nature of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly is revealed after a member is verbally harassed by her male colleagues while addressing the national birthrate problem.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jun 12, 2014
International Tokyo Toy Show allows a peek at Christmas hits
It's that time of year again. Children erupt with joy as they see their favorite anime characters come to life, and tech-savvy young adults scramble to figure out the latest cutting-edge gadgets. It's not Christmas, but the International Tokyo Toy Show runs a close second.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 11, 2014
Rights groups slam criminal justice reforms
Seventeen human rights and citizens' groups submitted a petition to the Justice Ministry on Wednesday slamming its proposal to reform criminal investigations as "far from enough" to improve transparency and prevent wrongful arrests.

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