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April 04, 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.
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
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
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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 8, 2018
In case you missed it: Trump's awkward response to a Japanese reporter
A reporter, whose question Trump brusquely dismissed as incomprehensible, prompted an array of reactions from those watching the scene unfold.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 7, 2018
With GOP's loss of House, should Japan anticipate a more hard-line Trump?
Tokyo may see President Donald Trump accelerate his war on what he considers “unfair” trade, as he seeks ways to fire up his political base.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2018
Japan's Cabinet approves bill to introduce new visa categories for foreign workers, to address shrinking workforce
The bill marks a departure from previous policy in allowing foreign individuals to work in blue collar industries for a potentially indefinite amount of time.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2018
Abe grilled at Diet on new visa statuses and upcoming tax hike
The prime minister was also questioned about moves to amend the postwar Constitution.
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW 2018
Oct 26, 2018
Tasked with bringing North Korea abduction issue to a close, Suga vows to do all in his power
As the government's new point man on the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korean agents, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said he will do all in his power to bring the issue to a close and secure the safe return of all who were kidnapped.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / CABINET INTERVIEW 2018
Oct 25, 2018
Okinawa minister says the government needs better messaging on Futenma transfer to assuage local concerns
The newly installed minister of state for Okinawa affairs says the prefecture's residents deserve a full breakdown of the government's rationale for relocating a contentious U.S. military base from the crowded city of Ginowan to the coastal district of Henoko in Nago.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2018
Tokyo confirms release of Japanese journalist Jumpei Yasuda after three years of captivity in Syria
The government's top spokesman attributed Yasuda's release to efforts by an anti-terrorism intelligence unit in Tokyo, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe thanking Qatar and Turkey “for their great cooperation.”
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 24, 2018
Abe underscores push to clean up Japan's postwar diplomatic rows in opening speech to Diet
The prime minister emphasized his determination to ensure the return of citizens abducted by North Korean agents and the signing of a peace treaty with Russia.
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2018
150 years on, Abe calls for 'emulation' of Meiji Era bravery to overcome Japan's modern crises
Abe praised the steps ancestors took toward reinventing Japan and likened their “brave” fight against the rise of the West to current challenges, including a rapidly shrinking population.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
U.S. tourist arrested after bringing a handgun into Japan
Hyogo police believe the handgun a U.S. tourist inadvertently brought into Japan slipped through security procedures at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%
Trump tosses a MAGA hat to the crowd during an event in which he unveiled new tariffs in the White House on Wednesday.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

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