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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
Jul 4, 2014
Timing is everything in SDF's recruitment drive
Most regard it as ironic, but some call it sinister.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / DEALING WITH DEMENTIA
Jul 3, 2014
Early onset dementia poses special problems
Early onset dementia affects people younger than 65, but experts say the belief that dementia only strikes seniors obfuscates the plight suffered by younger patients.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 30, 2014
Cultist Kikuchi gets five years
Aum Shinrikyo fugitive Naoko Kikuchi receives a five-year term for attempted murder in the 1995 Tokyo City Hall bombing but avoids explosives violations charges.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2014
Fiery suicide bid shocks Shinjuku on eve of historic security decision
A man tries to commit suicide by setting himself on fire near JR Shinjuku Station after using a loud speaker to tell hundreds of people why.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 26, 2014
Man who killed three, including kids, hanged
A 68-year-old death row inmate is hanged for killing three people seven years ago, including children, despite growing unease about capital punishment.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2014
Forbes magazine launches Japanese-language version
The respected Forbes business magazine published the first issue of its Japanese-language version Wednesday with the aim of spotlighting Japanese entrepreneurs keen to boost their nation's economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2014
Japan team's 0-0 World Cup draw dismays fans watching from Tokyo
Japanese soccer fans roared in frustration Friday morning after the national team ended its crucial match with Greece with an underwhelming 0-0 draw, making its advance to the second stage of the World Cup highly unlikely, though not impossible.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2014
Tag pushed as an Olympic demo sport
If there is one thing Yasuo and Takao Hazaki feel confident about outdoing any other father-son duo in, it is their intense commitment to the ancient playground game of "onigokko," or team tag.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 19, 2014
Female Your Party member interrupted by sexist heckles
The sexist nature of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly is revealed after a member is verbally harassed by her male colleagues while addressing the national birthrate problem.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jun 12, 2014
International Tokyo Toy Show allows a peek at Christmas hits
It's that time of year again. Children erupt with joy as they see their favorite anime characters come to life, and tech-savvy young adults scramble to figure out the latest cutting-edge gadgets. It's not Christmas, but the International Tokyo Toy Show runs a close second.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 11, 2014
Rights groups slam criminal justice reforms
Seventeen human rights and citizens' groups submitted a petition to the Justice Ministry on Wednesday slamming its proposal to reform criminal investigations as "far from enough" to improve transparency and prevent wrongful arrests.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2014
Pokemon ring, Sailor Moon stick are among top toys
Takara Tomy's Pokemon Mega Ring was declared best boys' toy in this year's Japan Toy Prize contest, it was announced Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2014
Panel calls for traineeship shake-up
The Justice Ministry is looking at ways to reform the long-criticized foreign trainee program, including whether to boost penalties for employers abuse trainees.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 9, 2014
Seven years sought for Aum's Kikuchi over parcel bombing
Prosecutors demand a seven-year term for former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive Naoko Kikuchi for her role the 1995 parcel bomb attack on Tokyo City Hall.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2014
Couple consider split after tiff over 'Frozen'
A Japanese businessman draws support after his wife threatens to divorce him because he didn't fall head over heels for the movie 'Frozen.'
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2014
Dance pioneer puts homeless back on their feet
While walking on the streets of Tokyo 10 years ago, dancer and choreographer Yuki Aoki encountered a scene that remains indelibly etched into his memory.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 30, 2014
Former Aum member denies being bomber
Former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive Naoko Kikuchi said Friday she had no idea that cult superiors had roped her into a plot to build and send a parcel bomb to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government headquarters in 1995.
JAPAN
May 23, 2014
School axes policy of barring foreigners
The chairman of three private cooking schools in Saitama scraps his discriminatory policy of barring foreign students and apologizes for being 'immature and stubborn.'
JAPAN
May 21, 2014
Kinki no more: With eye on foreign students, university opts for new name
Perhaps fed up with being the butt of jokes by English speakers, Kinki University in Osaka will rename itself Kindai University from April 2016, when it launches a new department offering courses in foreign languages.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 20, 2014
Suspect flip-flops on email threats
A computer expert on trial for sending violent threats from other people's hacked computers has admitted he's guilty, calling himself “a psychopath” in a surprise confession, his lawyer says, potentially ending a case that had earlier seen police arrest the wrong suspects.

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