He graduated from the law school of Tokyo Imperial University in July 1902 and received a posting to the Ministry of Justice (Japan) as a public prosecutor.

One of his first actions was to poll several bar associations on the need for judicial reform, including the simplification and streamlining of legal procedures.

These actions earned him the wrath of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office, which refused to sanction his continuation as Justice Minister under the Hirota administration.

However, his disagreements over the enforcement of Japan's increasingly totalitarian application of the Peace Preservation Laws against “thought crimes”, speaking out against police abuse of power and bureaucratic incivility to the general populace [2] alienated him from the supporters of his rival Shiono, and he resigned in January 1940.

Ohara returned to the government of Post-occupation Japan under the 5th Yoshida administration in June 1954 as Minister of Justice as well as Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission.