After the tsunami and nuclear disaster in 2011, he began documenting the disaster area, photographing from inside Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Obara was the first photojournalist to convey the story from inside the plant. His work in the disaster areas was published as the photobook Reset Beyond Fukushima, published by Lars Müller Publishers, Switzerland in March 2012.
In 2014, he focused on victims of World War Two in Japan and his self published photobook Silent Histories was shortlisted for Paris Photo/Aperture Photo Book Award and was selected for TIME, Lens Culture, and Telegraph Best Photobook 2014. Continuing his pursuit of nuclear labour issues as a long term project, Obara is currently focusing on workers at Chernobyl nuclear power plant. As of 2015, he is studying at London College of Communication for a master's degree in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography.A partner photographer of Swiss photo agency Keystone, his photographs appear regularly in The Guardian, Courier international, ZEIT, El Mund, BBC, CNN, NHK, and DAYS JAPAN.
