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November 08, 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 / Politics
Jul 27, 2018
Untangling Japan's curious support for Cambodia's 'undemocratic' election
As democracies across the globe distance themselves from Cambodia's general election, widely slammed as a sham, Japan has conspicuously gone out of its way to recognize it. Its apparent motive: win back the heart of Prime Minister Hun Sen as the Cambodian leader cozies up to China.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 26, 2018
Aum executions reignite debate over Japan's death penalty
Thursday's executions of six Aum Shinrikyo cultists — the second set of hangings this month following the executions of seven on July 6 — have reignited debate over the nation's death penalty system, marked by its opacity and the absence of prior notice to the public, while some continue to back...
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2018
LDP lawmaker Mio Sugita faces backlash after describing LGBT people as 'unproductive'
A ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker has drawn a fierce backlash after labeling the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community "unproductive" in terms of childbirth, and warning that a society that accepts same-sex relationships risks "increasing unhappy people."
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 20, 2018
As Diet wraps up, Abe re-emerges as front-runner for LDP election
As recently as spring, the Abe administration was in disarray, weakened by what appeared to be an unstoppable flow of scandals and missteps.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 18, 2018
Japan's watered-down smoking ban clears Diet
Lighting up in public facilities prohibited for the first time as the nation scrambles to combat secondhand smoke in the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2018
Casinos in Japan: Tourist attractions or hotbeds of gambling addiction?
As the year's ordinary Diet session nears a climax this week, debate is heating up over a bill Prime Minister Shinzo Abe characterizes as key to his growth strategy: the so-called casino implementation legislation.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 11, 2018
Debate over LDP's plan to reform electoral system for Upper House heats up
Brushing off opposition anger, the ruling bloc on Wednesday rammed through a Diet panel a contentious bill that will likely make the arcane electoral system even more complicated.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2018
'Life or death': Tokyo pub owners fear impact of tougher smoking laws
Hiroshi Yoshida is facing a dilemma.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 6, 2018
Aum victims and bereaved express sense of closure, disappointment and confusion over executions
The execution of Aum Shinrikyo leader Shoko Asahara and six others from the doomsday cult leaves some feeling empty, gives others a sense of closure.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2018
Diet enacts key labor reform that opposition slams as 'karōshi promotion' bill
The bill ushers in a legally binding overtime cap and exempts skilled white-collar employees from work-time regulations.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2018
Tokyo lawmakers approve anti-smoking ordinance as capital gears up for 2020 Olympics
The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly passed an anti-smoking ordinance that is stricter than the national version currently under consideration, in a move intended to rein in secondhand smoke.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2018
Seeking higher office: Marijuana found growing near lawmakers' building in central Tokyo
In a nation governed by one of the world's most draconian anti-cannabis laws, it's rare enough to stumble upon marijuana plants thriving on the side of a road.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2018
Different disaster, same story: Osaka quake prompts online hate speech targeting foreigners
Monday's deadly quake in Osaka Prefecture has led to the resurgence of what has become a familiar — if disconcerting — post-disaster trend on the internet: a slew of hate speech-driven tweets warning of "crimes" committed by foreign residents.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 15, 2018
Ruling coalition drives casino bill through Lower House panel as opposition protests
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition on Friday pushed through a Lower House panel a contentious bill that specifies rules about the planned structure of integrated resorts (IRs), which will incorporate casino facilities, further intensifying political tensions with the opposition.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 13, 2018
Japan's Diet OKs law lowering age of adulthood to 18
The Diet passes a package of amendments that — for the first time in 140 years — includes a measure lowering adulthood to 18 years old from the current 20.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 12, 2018
Is Tokyo's commitment to abduction issue a diplomatic stumbling block?
As the world waited for Trump and Kim to emerge from their summit, Japan looked for signs that the two had addressed its top priority: abductees.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 9, 2018
Japan uneasy on prospects for Trump-Kim summit
With just days to go, Japan remains nervous its interests will get lost in the shuffle as the U.S. and North Korean leaders try to score quick diplomatic points.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 8, 2018
Ruling coalition holds back on casino bill ahead of Niigata gubernatorial election
The powerful ruling coalition can simply force the fiercely contested bill through the Lower House panel, but that might have been unwise ahead of Niigata's gubernatorial election Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 4, 2018
Panel balks at proposing the killing of Japan's political fairness clause
The proposal had drawn criticism for potentially opening up the nation's airwaves to a deluge of politically charged programs and internet-driven 'fake news.'
JAPAN / Politics
May 31, 2018
Japan's ruling bloc pushes labor bill through the Lower House amid worries over karōshi
The government says the comprehensive legal package will represent the biggest shake-up of labor laws in Japan's postwar history, but some believe it could make problems worse.
The Toyota buyout is a major test for Japan’s reforms
Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota Motor, speaks during a media preview at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Oct. 29. Minority investors are challenging the carmaker's bid to take affiliate Toyota Industries Corp. private.
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
New satellite images suggest 'mass graves' in Sudan's El-Fasher
A general view of a berm construction in Kinin Village near El-Fasher.
High-speed rail is expensive and difficult, but seen as a key to growth
Achal Khare, former managing director at India’s National High Speed Rail Corporation, gives a presentation during the IHRA Forum 2025 in Tokyo on Oct. 23.
SoftBank is said to have explored potential takeover of Marvell
SoftBank explored a potential takeover of U.S. chipmaker Marvell Technology earlier this year, in what would have been the semiconductor industry's largest-ever deal.
These are the hottest lower-division rikishi to watch right now
Fukazaki (right) grapples with Enho at the IG Arena in Nagoya on July 13.
Across borders and screens, Tokyo film festival finds humanity in migration
“Mother Bhumi” takes place in a multiethnic rice-farming community where Chinese, Thai and Malay lineages intertwine.
Takaichi’s balancing act: Supporting Taiwan and stabilizing China ties
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with Lin Hsin-i, Taiwan’s presidential adviser, on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday in this image posted to Takaichi's official X account.
From 1973 to 2025: A Japanese American skater’s long ride to recognition
Judi Oyama at Winchester Skatepark in San Jose, California, in January 1979. The Skateboarding Hall of Fame inductee and Guinness World Record holder still skates and hopes to inspire older women.
More Japanese universities pushing toward teaching in English
Waseda University in Tokyo

Podcast

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

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes
By Alex K.T. Martin

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