author

 
 
 Tomohiro Osaki

Meta

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
Oct 16, 2017
Let permanent foreign residents participate in local elections: Komeito chief Yamaguchi
Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of lay Buddhist-backed Komeito, said Monday that permanent foreign residents should be granted the right to vote in local elections, presenting a stark contrast with an upstart rival challenging his party in the snap election this weekend.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / Decision 2017
Oct 11, 2017
LDP's secretary-general says election loss 'impossible,' the party is not in danger
As Japan braces for a snap election later this month, Toshihiro Nikai, the No. 2 man of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Wednesday dismissed it as "impossible" that his party will lose big enough to put the leadership of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the LDP in jeopardy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS,Decision 2017
Oct 10, 2017
Yuriko Koike’s tactics fail to inspire hope as Lower House election kicks off, analysts say
Just hours before his announcement last month that he would dissolve the Lower House for a snap election, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was blindsided by his biggest political adversary of late: Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike. The telegenic, populist governor had upstaged Abe by announcing that she would create...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 8, 2017
At debate, Abe pins election hopes on tough stance against North Korea
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe justifies his decision to call a snap election as a chance to seek a mandate from the public about his North Korea policy.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 6, 2017
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike defends her party's policy of not granting foreign residents in Japan the right to vote
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike defends her recently launched party's policy of denying foreign residents here the right to vote or run in local elections, stating that such measures are necessary to protect the national interest.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 5, 2017
As Tokyo assembly closes, Koike still not running in Lower House election
The answer is no. Period.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2017
Yukio Edano's liberal party rides wave of Twitter support, nearly catching up to Abe's LDP
A liberal-minded political party founded by ex-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has been sweeping its way through Japan’s Twitter community, amassing more than 100,000 followers in just a few days since its official launch on Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2017
Koike denials of a Lower House run likely to take wind out of Kibo no To's election sails
Speculation that Koike may run for a Lower House seat fast loses steam as the governor dismisses the prospect she would make a bid to return to the Diet.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 2, 2017
Former DP heavyweight Yukio Edano seeks to fill void with new liberal-minded party
Edano says his new liberal-minded party will maximize the chances of dethroning Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 2, 2017
Mayuko Toyota scandal brings to light how working as a Diet secretary can become a living hell
In the past few months, hardly a day hasgone by without a news story popping up on Japan's tabloid TV shows replaying Diet member Mayuko Toyota's now infamous rant.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 29, 2017
Tokyo posting will be defined by 'tight' Trump-Abe ties, Hagerty says
William Hagerty, Washington's new ambassador to Japan, expressed confidence Friday that his stint in Tokyo will be defined by the kind of "tight connection" and "understanding" that have shaped U.S. President Donald Trump's relationship with his closest friend among world leaders: Prime Minister Shinzo...
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 28, 2017
Yuriko Koike says second-place finish not good enough in snap vote, plans to wrench power from ruling LDP
Kibo no To is in it to win it in the upcoming national election, Koike says, expressing the intention to wrench power from Abe and his ruling party.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 27, 2017
Yuriko Koike's new party, Kibo no To, vows to alter Japan's political landscape
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike launches a new political party, promising to “reset” Japan and restore its international prestige, while also posing a powerful threat to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 25, 2017
Abe gambles on snap election as Koike surprises with new party
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirms he will call a snap election on Thursday and Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike launches a new political party to take him on.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 13, 2017
DP seeks to halt hemorrhaging of its lawmakers following prominent member's resignation
A conservative lawmaker tendered his resignation from the main opposition Democratic Party on Wednesday, setting off what is likely to become a wave of similar moves by others to bolt a party mired in the throes of an existential crisis.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 11, 2017
Returning from Pyongyang, Inoki says the North will pursue nukes as long as the U.S. keeps up pressure
North Korea will continue to develop its nuclear program — seeking even stronger weapons — as long as the regime remains subject to a U.S.-led effort to heap pressure on it, a former professional wrestler turned Diet member quoted a high-ranking official from the isolated country as saying during...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 11, 2017
North Korean nuclear crisis tests Japan's mettle, has experts debating how to respond
Another war on the Korean Peninsula — this time a nuclear one — is beginning to look more possible than ever before, stirring anxiety in Japan and prompting debate over how it should respond.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 7, 2017
Lawmaker Yamao resigns from the DP after alleged extramarital affair deepens opposition party's crisis
Long considered a rising star, Shiori Yamao exits the Democratic Party amid an emerging scandal, dealing a blow to the nascent leadership of the struggling opposition.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 4, 2017
South Korea warns North could launch ICBM, seeks more firepower as U.S. and Japan respond to nuclear test
South Korea's military says it has uncovered signs rival North Korea is preparing for a fresh missile launch, possibly of a long-range ICBM.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 3, 2017
North Korea conducts sixth nuclear test, says it has developed 'perfect' H-bomb
North Korea claims to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb capable of being loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile, presenting the U.S. and its allies with a new and more potent challenge.

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