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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
Mar 3, 2017
In a break from LDP, Kono calls for Japan to open doors to blue-collar foreign workers
Veteran Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Taro Kono is calling for a drastic policy shift that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is loath to accept: open up Japan to blue-collar foreign workers.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 27, 2017
Abe moves to distance himself from Osaka school after praising principal's ideology
Speaking in the Diet, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe begins denying his links to an ultranationalist kindergarten after previously describing its principal in glowing terms.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 21, 2017
Genuine asylum seekers in Japan lumped together with migrant laborers
The clanking of Tokyo trains going by still echoes in the head of a 27-year-old Congolese man as he recalls the dreadful few weeks he spent in Japan in January 2016 traveling from station to station, homeless, in search of a place where he could survive the cruel cold nights.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2017
Japan’s interpreters struggle to make sense of 'Trumpese'
As political leaders in Japan pay close attention to how U.S. President Donald Trump will go in office, so, too, are interpreters who have had a nightmarish experience translating his disjointed speeches.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 10, 2017
Sexlessness among married Japanese couples on the rise: survey
Sexlessness among married couples in Japan was more pervasive than ever in 2016, with nearly half not making love for an extended period of time, a survey released Friday showed.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 9, 2017
Smoking ban in public facilities would infringe on constitutional rights, say LDP lawmakers
Members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party lash out at the health ministry's proposed smoking ban for public facilities, complicating the nationwide effort to stamp out secondhand smoke.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 8, 2017
DP calls for Kaneda to resign over attempt to gag media on anti-conspiracy bill
Opposition lawmakers ratcheted up calls for the justice minister to step down amid allegations he manipulated the media to stifle Diet debate on a contentious anti-conspiracy bill.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 2, 2017
Abe mulls easing immigration for kin of Japanese emigrants to South America
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday hinted he was willing to expand the scope of young Japanese-Brazilians eligible for preferential visa status to speed their emigration to labor-hungry Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2017
Health ministry gears up for possible ban on smoking in public areas
The health ministry is considering a legal revision to ban smoking in public areas to help bring the nation's policy on secondhand smoke in line with global standards ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 30, 2017
Tokyo silent as Trump immigration ban sparks global outcry
In sharp contrast to the outpouring of condemnation by leaders across the globe, top Japanese officials declined to comment on the tightened immigration policy of U.S. President Donald Trump, calling the move a domestic affair.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 30, 2017
Details short as Abe renews vow to end culture of overwork
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reaffirms his vow to end the entrenched corporate culture of overwork but stops short of setting a timeline for legislation or promising to require a rest period between shifts.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 26, 2017
Abe warms to bilateral trade deal with U.S. but vows to still protect farmers
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday gave the clearest indication yet that Tokyo may accept Washington's departure from the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 26, 2017
Abe's kanji gaffe makes Twitter's trend tally
Reading kanji characters can be treacherous, and it seems even Prime Minister Shinzo Abe isn't immune to the pitfalls.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 23, 2017
Abe faces opposition questions on U.S. alliance, conspiracy bill
Abe expresses eagerness to arrange a summit talk with Trump “as soon as possible,” vowing to further strengthen ties.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 19, 2017
Abe to pursue contentious law against criminal conspiracies from outset of Diet session
As this year's ordinary Diet session kicks off Friday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to make waves yet again. His newest goal is to make conspiracies to commit crimes a punishable offense.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 16, 2017
Caroline Kennedy calls ambassador role in Japan her 'greatest privilege' in farewell message
U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy calls her three years in Japan “the greatest privilege of my life” and says in a farewell video message that she hopes to come back for a visit.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2017
Group drawing on long-term foreign residents to help newcomers navigate life in Japan
Foreign residents in Japan may be at a disadvantage in some ways, but they are by no means powerless nor on their own, says Tokyo-based nonprofit organization Asian People's Friendship Society (APFS).
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 3, 2017
Experts warn Japan's language schools are becoming a front for importing cheap labor
A 29-year-old Nepalese student in Tokyo has found herself stuck in limbo with her dreams derailed, and the state of Japan's language schools is to blame.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 1, 2017
Abe has no reason to rock the boat by calling early-2017 snap election
After weeks of speculation that 2017 may start with a snap election in late January, the prime minister said on NHK that it will not happen.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 19, 2016
New law to fight bias against 'burakumin' seen falling short
Overshadowed by the 11th-hour furor over casino legalization and other legislation forced through the Diet by the ruling bloc last week was the enactment of a lesser-known law that has significant implications for Japan's minority burakumin.

Longform

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Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it