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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 / History / FOCUS
Feb 21, 2019
Crown Prince Naruhito likely to stay close to the people upon becoming Japan's first emperor born after the war
In June 2011, three months after savage tsunami devastated Japan's northeast coastline, Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako were visiting Miyagi — one of the three hardest-hit prefectures — to get a firsthand look at the gut-wrenching aftermath of the disaster and commiserate with evacuees...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2019
Coming events give Japan chance to shine as travel destination — if it can rise to the occasion, says tourism chief
Once a tourism underachiever, Japan is riding high like never before. Last year, the nation attracted a record 31 million foreign tourists, topping 30 million for the first time and pulling off nearly a fourfold jump from 2012.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 13, 2019
Government slammed for singling out 'problematic' Tokyo Shimbun reporter in warning to press club
The government's handling of a Tokyo Shimbun reporter known for her assertive questioning style has come under heavy scrutiny, after it emerged that authorities issued a statement last year singling her out for criticism and urging the Japanese press to keep their questions "accurate" and "fact-based."...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Feb 10, 2019
Japanese makeup guru on crusade to revamp men's grooming habits
As a university student, Hiroki Takahashi could barely step outside his home without a surgical mask on. Even when he did venture out, he was terrified of the fluorescent lighting ubiquitous in convenience stores and trains that ruthlessly illuminated what he was desperately trying to hide — a mass...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / Heisei Icons
Feb 3, 2019
Takafumi Horie: Bane of the old guard
In many ways, Heisei has been an era of reform, peppered with tales of mavericks who challenged those at the helm of an entrenched business and political system they viewed as opaque and rife with vested interests.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 28, 2019
In annual policy speech, Abe omits passage on ties with South Korea
Seoul gets only a passing mention amid the currently tumultuous relationship.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 15, 2019
Japanese Olympic Committee head Tsunekazu Takeda denies accusation of corruption linked to 2020 bid
Takeda's denial followed reports last week that French prosecutors have brought a preliminary charge against him for alleged corruption over bidding for the 2020 Games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2019
Taro Aso's blaming of sexual harassment victim is voted 2018's most sexist remark by a Japanese politician
Finance Minister Taro Aso's apparent justification of sexual harassment committed by a former prominent bureaucrat topped a list of the most egregious sexist and discriminatory remarks made by Japanese politicians in 2018, according to a recent online survey.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / 2019 Outlook
Jan 2, 2019
Japan already in for politically hectic 2019, but may see 'double election'
Japan's 2019 political calendar is shaping up to be a busy year with Emperor Akihito's historic abdication at the end of April and elections in mid-April and over the summer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 30, 2018
Tokyo 'bus cafe,' a safe haven from sexual exploitation for troubled young girls
Unmistakable for its exterior splashed with illustrations of colorful flowers, a bright pink bus glows at a Shibuya park one December evening, its dazzling design standing out as the darkness of the night sets in.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2018
Japan discloses footage of radar lock-on by South Korean warship
Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya says the footage proves that a South Korean military destroyer locked fire-control radar on an MSDF aircraft on Dec. 20.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2018
Japan formally announces IWC withdrawal to resume commercial whaling
After the pullout, Japan plans to hunt whales in nearby waters and within its exclusive economic zone beginning in July.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 17, 2018
With water privatization, Japan faces crossroads in battling its aging pipes
Japanese water is clean and readily available, as evidenced by drinkable tap water and a nearly 100 percent penetration rate.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 10, 2018
With debate on constitutional reform sidelined, has immigration law been a pyrrhic victory for Abe?
As the extraordinary Diet session wrapped up, Abe found himself no closer to fulfilling his longtime ambition of amending the nation's postwar Constitution.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 7, 2018
Japan passes controversial immigration bill paving way for foreign worker influx
The bill has elicited a fierce backlash from opposition lawmakers, who say it is void of key specifics.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 27, 2018
Immigration bill clears Lower House despite opposition filibuster and no-confidence motion
Deliberations on the bill, which is predicted to bring in 340,000 blue-collar foreign workers, only started Nov. 21, leading opposition parties to call for more discussion.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 27, 2018
Constitutional referendum would unleash TV blitz never before seen in Japan
If Japan ever calls a referendum on whether to revise the postwar Constitution, it could spark a heated TV advertising war, akin to what the U.S. goes through for its presidential election campaigns.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 26, 2018
Opposition ramps up criticism of new immigration law ahead of Lower House passage
They slammed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's interpretation of immigrants as out of line with “global standards.”
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Nov 19, 2018
Wrangling over planned shake-up of Japan's immigration control law intensifies after government admits to data errors
A ruckus in the Diet over erroneous statistics leaves the government's Dec. 10 deadline for passage of new legislation in doubt.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 14, 2018
Abe says government will set 'cap' on number of foreign workers under new visa types
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday that the government will soon reveal estimates of worker shortages that will effectively function as a cap on the number of foreign workers to be admitted under a new visa system currently being deliberated by the Diet.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?