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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
Oct 25, 2013
Hotelier lays food scam to staff ignorant of law
Hankyu Hanshin Hotels Co. has been misrepresenting items on its menus for seven years at eateries in at least four prefectures, possibly scamming some 79,000 patrons in the process, and management is blaming the misdeeds on employees ignorant about the law.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2013
Frenchman missing five days in Yamanashi mountains
A Frenchman has been missing since Monday in Yamanashi Prefecture near the country's second-highest mountain, and his friends are now desperate to raise funds to kick off a private search for him, it was learned Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2013
Big typhoons may collide off Honshu
Less than a week after being hit by the largest typhoon in a decade, Tokyo is bracing for another strong storm, and it may get merged with an even stronger approaching tempest.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2013
All-English science contest gives young researchers way to connect
When University of Tokyo student Mugiko Komatsuda appeared on stage at a science contest in Tokyo last week, she dazzled the crowd with her self-confidence, resonant voice and radiant smile.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2013
Exchange student who gave life hailed
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye praised exchange student Lee Su-hyon, who died 12 years ago Thursday attempting to save a Japanese man who had fallen off a Tokyo train platform onto the tracks.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2013
Emergency service hops language barrier
An emergency call for an ambulance could easily result in an unnecessary tragedy if the caller doesn't speak Japanese fluently.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2013
Ban lifted on 'nikkei' who got axed, airfare
The government lifts its ban on the return of Japanese-Brazilians who received financial help in 2009 to fly home when they were thrown out of work during the global financial crisis.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2013
Diplomats bag 'cool' photo prizes
Ciaran Chestnutt, first secretary of the Australian Embassy, on Thursday won the Prince Takamado Memorial Prize while Mayssa Hamada from the Egyptian Embassy received the Grand Prize in this year's photo contest featuring the works of diplomats posted in Japan.
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2013
Smash-hit drama about banker draws interest from overseas markets
A smash-hit drama series starring a maverick Japanese banker, "Hanzawa Naoki," will be aired overseas soon, including in Taiwan and Hong Kong, with English-speaking nations possibly following suit, Tokyo Broadcasting System Television Inc. said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2013
Exhibit highlights plight of death-row inmates
A two-day exhibition showcasing an array of paintings by death-row inmates kicked off Saturday in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2013
Ex-con on mission to tame recidivism rate
Hiroshi Igarashi remembers feeling like a dinosaur when he was released from prison in 2011 after nine years behind bars. He had no idea how to use IC cards and phones as train tickets. Even the self-serve "drink bar" system in restaurants struck him as an utter enigma.
Japan Times
JAPAN / LIGHTING THE OLYMPIC FLAME
Sep 24, 2013
Harumi urged not to sit back and squander Olympic windfall
People who live in Tokyo's Harumi seafront district are excited about hosting the Olympic Village when the games come to town in 2020, but the trick will be parleying the construction into a long-term boon.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2013
Narita to retire inter-terminal buses, use walkways
Narita International Airport on Friday announced it will put new moving walkways into service on Sept. 27 to help travelers more quickly reach the departure and arrival concourses in an annex to Terminal 2.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 17, 2013
Court interpreters' working conditions a threat to fairness
The introduction of the lay judge system four years ago has only added to the stress placed on court interpreters, as they grapple with ever-worsening working conditions that have left them fatigued, ill-prepared and more error-prone, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations warns.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 16, 2013
TEAP stresses pragmatic approach
As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party forges ahead with its strategy of nurturing "internationally minded" talent to aid economic growth, the prospect that students' scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) will be used as criteria for entering university looms increasingly...
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 12, 2013
Death-row inmate, 73, sixth executed under Abe Cabinet
A convicted murderer is hanged for robbing and gunning down the owner of a restaurant in Yokohama's Chinatown in May 2004.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2013
Young global talent discusses peace and language
Eight young foreigners shared their unique take on Japanese society and memories of a month-long visit to the country during a symposium Saturday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2013
Miyazaki vows he won't be idle in retirement
Hayao Miyazaki, the retiring czar of Japanese animation, said Friday that while he will no longer be at the forefront of creating feature-length animated movies, he will be a "freed man" pursuing his own interests as long as he can.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Sep 5, 2013
End of unequal inheritance lauded
Legal experts said Wednesday's landmark decision by the Supreme Court that the Civil Code provision denying full inheritance rights to heirs born out of wedlock is unconstitutional was welcome but late in coming.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 4, 2013
Top court shoots down unequal inheritance rights
In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court declares unconstitutional the Civil Code clause that denies full inheritance rights to heirs born out of wedlock.

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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