Hiroshi Matsubara - The Japan Times

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Hiroshi Matsubara

For Hiroshi Matsubara's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

JAPAN

Sep 21, 2001

Detention process questioned

The alleged rape of a Japanese woman on June 29 by a U.S. serviceman in Okinawa has revived an old debate -- whether crime suspects are treated fairly during the investigative and trial process in Japan.

JAPAN

Sep 13, 2001

Programs for mentally ill out of hospitals fall short

Staff writer A typical busy morning at this "bento" delivery shop in Tokyo's Taito Ward starts at 9 a.m., when around 15 workers come to prepare over 100 boxed lunches to be delivered to nearby office buildings.

JAPAN

Sep 12, 2001

Psychiatric care still mired in Dark Ages

Staff writer Unlike the common image of mental institutions with tight security and barred windows, the Yowa Hospital in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, looks no different than a general hospital.

JAPAN

Aug 16, 2001

Legitimized foreigners urge more amnesty

A 15-year-old Iranian girl's first trip to her home country in 10 years last July began with a surprise welcome at Tehran airport by some 100 relatives.

JAPAN

Aug 11, 2001

Tobacco lobby keeps lid on state health plans

Staff writerSusumu Motojima, head of Japan Tobacco Inc.'s Kyoto branch, recently said smoking is a "pastime or habit an adult has the right to choose."

JAPAN

Aug 10, 2001

Smokers sue as Japan Tobacco denies causal links

Matao Yamamoto, a 67-year-old former Kyoto cab driver, is one of a large number of smokers in Japan who deeply regrets acquiring the hard-to-quit habit.

JAPAN

Jun 29, 2001

Coming out at the workplace the next big challenge for gays

During a party celebrating his election to a Tokyo ward assembly in April 1999, the candidate was being congratulated by supporters, as were his parents, who were hailed as the biggest contributors to the successful campaign.

JAPAN

Jun 29, 2001

Jury still out on child-killer's mental state

The Tokyo High Court's decision Thursday to uphold Tsutomu Miyazaki's death sentence was not surprising to many experts who have followed the case.

JAPAN

Jun 20, 2001

Sex change no cure for torment

In 1987, Masae Torai caught a flight to the United States with 4 million yen in savings to undergo a sex-reassignment operation and fulfill a long-held wish to become male.

JAPAN

May 31, 2001

Tobacco industry 'Insider' takes his campaign to Japan

Educational and grassroots activities will be crucial if Japan is to successfully reduce the nation's relatively high number of smokers and incidence of lung cancer -- one of the leading causes of death in this country, said scientist and tobacco educator Jeffrey Wigand.

JAPAN

May 12, 2001

Hansen's patients hope for dignity in society's eyes

Former patients of Hansen's disease are hoping their fight to restore the human rights they have long been deprived of will build public awareness and eventually lead to the creation of a society in which no one's dignity is denied.

JAPAN

Apr 21, 2001

Koreans weigh merits of gaining Japan citizenship

Staff writer One Hokkaido resident is too proud to give up his South Korean nationality despite the disadvantages it brings while living in Japan.

JAPAN

Apr 20, 2001

Foreigners face long slog to Japanese citizenship

Seven years after he became the first foreign sumo wrestler to win the revered Emperor's Cup in 1972, Jesse "Takamiyama" Kuhaulua applied for Japanese citizenship.

JAPAN

Mar 29, 2001

HIV-hit hemophiliacs fight on

When the government began allowing hemophiliacs to self-inject blood-clotting agents in 1981, Satoru Ienishi thought "spring had finally come" to a life plagued by problems stemming from the condition.

JAPAN

Mar 25, 2001

Tokyo sake breweries beset by winds of change

Tsuchiya Brewery in Tokyo's Komae is set to release Sakurako brand "jizake" (local sake), featuring the name of the future figurehead of the 128-year-old company.

JAPAN

Mar 23, 2001

Outcast Aum aids landlord's plan

A person may offer help when seeing someone in despair, or instead opt to benefit from that desperation by taking advantage of it.

JAPAN

Mar 4, 2001

Gynecologist takes sex crusade to Roppongi streets

When Tsuneo Akaeda opens his mouth to speak about the sex culture of Japan's younger generation, a tirade of sexual slang all the more surprising because of his professional and smart-suited exterior flows out.

JAPAN

Feb 25, 2001

Daytime crowds rediscover Tsukiji fish markets

The recent change in food distribution patterns has seen producers and large retailers connect directly, effectively marginalizing the nation's wholesalers. And Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market in Chuo Ward, better known as Tsukiji market, is no exception.

JAPAN

Feb 22, 2001

Labor program accused of profiteering

The arrest in November of Tadao Koseki, the former president of mutual-aid organization KSD, has highlighted the potentially lucrative nature of the Foreigners' Trainee System, the government-run program to train foreigners at firms in Japan.

JAPAN

Jan 14, 2001

Homelessness being tackled from new angle

Asked why he became homeless, he said he was a victim of the current economic trend.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.

How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan

By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

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