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May 17, 2024
 

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Hiroshi Matsubara
For Hiroshi Matsubara's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 28, 2002
Runway now in land holdouts' backyard
NARITA, Chiba Pref. -- Crops rustling in the wind appear to be trembling because of the jetliner taxiing nearby, its fin visible above the walls surrounding the farm.
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEEKEND WISDOM
Apr 28, 2002
Scientist's conscience prevents him from toeing institute line
Hoisting banners with the single Chinese character for "damnation," victims of the mercury poisoning outbreak known as Minamata disease rallied in Tokyo in 1971 to draw national attention to their plight.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2002
Mitsui case breaks new ground for wartime redress
A decision Friday to order a private company to pay compensation to foreign wartime forced laborers has been hailed as an indication that the nation's judiciary may be increasingly willing to favor foreigners who suffered at the hands of Japan during World War II.
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
Apr 20, 2002
Museum in Ikebukuro holds Mideast treasures
Rather like a Pharaoh's tomb inside one of the Great Pyramids, one dark corner of Sunshine City -- a large commercial complex near JR Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo -- is filled with ancient treasures.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CLOSE NEIGHBORS
Apr 19, 2002
Language, music point way to stronger relations
When Akiko Konishi felt life had become routine after five years in the same company, she decided to spice things up a little by studying a foreign language.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CLOSE NEIGHBORS
Apr 18, 2002
Grassroots ties aim to bypass diplomatic gridlock
One click on a mouse turns the hankul characters on an Internet chat site into a Japanese message of welcome, delighting elderly Japanese participants in an online exchange with some of their South Korean counterparts.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2002
Nonsmokers little-served by air purifiers
Whether they are waiting to board a flight at Tokyo's Haneda airport or taking a break in the lobby of a government ministry in the Kasumigaseki district, smokers nowadays are often herded into areas with prominent air filtering devices.
COMMUNITY
Mar 10, 2002
Swing your (same sex) partner round and round
The shouts of the caller are heard continuously over the country and western music on the sound system. His words, like magic, control the movements of the dancers on the floor. The dancers are arranged in groups of four couples -- leads and their partners, just as in all square-dancing groups. But in...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2002
Workshops for mentally ill feel fenced in
A newspaper article that called attention to the May 1981 opening of the Aoi Mugi No Ie workshop for the mentally ill, mainly schizophrenics, in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, sparked a 15-year campaign by local residents to drive the facility away.
JAPAN / MUSEUM MUSINGS
Feb 11, 2002
Recalling the Tabata district's golden age
Seeing the rows of houses and apartments clustered around JR Tabata Station, it is hard to believe the area was, until the beginning of the last century, a vast agricultural landscape marking the northeastern end of downtown Tokyo.
JAPAN / ANCIENT TRADITIONS
Jan 3, 2002
Religious groups grope to keep, attract flock
Second of two parts Staff writer In the crisp morning air, two young men fervently chant a sutra in front of a shining 2-meter statue of Amida Buddha, which is of cardinal importance in the Jodo sect, at Kaihoji Temple in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward.
JAPAN / ANCIENT TRADITIONS
Jan 1, 2002
Western eyes blind to spirituality in Japan
First of two parts
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2001
Extremism fills intellectual void?
The profiles of the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States remind scholar Hiromi Shimada of senior Aum Shinrikyo members.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2001
South Korean author protests mayor's 'sangokujin' remark
When Shinjuku Ward Mayor Takashi Onoda referred to "sangokujin" in a speech on Nov. 13, Shin Sugok could not believe it.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2001
Nation struggles with drug abuse
A suspended prison term handed down six years ago was not enough to stop the 34-year-old gas station worker from using amphetamines, which had already badly damaged his life.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2001
Imperial eyes shielded from reality of homelessness
The homeless at Ueno Park were up early Monday, with hundreds of the park dwellers quietly disassembling their tents and packing their belongings onto carts soon after dawn.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2001
Cult brush tars modern faiths
Almost half a year after Nissan Motor Co.'s Murayama plant was shut down, the automaker announced in July it was considering selling a large portion of the 1.39-million-sq.-meter property to a Buddhist organization.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2001
Interest in new religions mirrors social change
While the definition of "new religion" varies among scholars and religious groups, the term is generally used for groups founded sometime between the mid-19th century, when Japan started modernizing, and the mid-1970s.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2001
Battle waged over underground war factory
On a sunny autumn morning, a group of about 10 families, looking no different from ordinary hikers, gathers at JR Takao Station. The station usually serves as a gateway to Mount Takao and other well-known trekking areas west of Tokyo. But this group's destination is strikingly different.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2001
HIV ruling opens bureaucratic can of worms
...
Japanese stripper bids to have her porn movies taken off internet
Plaintiff Miyuki Ariga (left) speaks at a news conference along with her lawyer, Yoshitomo Morohashi, after filing a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday.
Kishida defends planned rule to revoke foreigners' residency
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a meeting of the Lower House Judicial Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
Human bone-like objects found at Nippon Steel plant’s molten iron pot, with one worker missing
Police believe it’s highly possible that human bones found in a molten iron pot at Nippon Steel's Oita factory belong to a missing male employee.
Was Onosato's defeat of Terunofuji an era-defining bout?
Onosato (right) defeats Terunofuji at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 12. While nothing in sumo is guaranteed, it seems almost inevitable that Onosato is destined for the top of the sport's pyramid.
Man suspected of using smart glasses to cheat on Waseda University exams
The Waseda University campus in Tokyo. An 18-year-old male test-taker is suspected of using smart glasses to cheat during the university's entrance exam.
Japanese billionaire sues Meta over investment scams using his image
Entrepreneurs Yusaku Maezawa (second from right) and Takafumi Horie (third from right) attend a study session on fake social media ads and investment scams at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on April 10.
Japanese rap creates its mecca in Pop Yours
Tokyo-based artist Jumadiba says he forgoes the label of simply “rap” for his music because the Japanese rap scene isn’t confined to a particular sound.
Who’s toughest on China? Biden’s tariff tactic ups ante as election looms.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about new actions to protect American workers and businesses from China's "unfair" trade practices, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
Was Onosato's defeat of Terunofuji an era-defining bout?
Onosato (right) defeats Terunofuji at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 12. While nothing in sumo is guaranteed, it seems almost inevitable that Onosato is destined for the top of the sport's pyramid.
Ishin struggles to set itself apart from other parties
Nippon Ishin no Kai Secretary-General Fumitake Fujita (right) speaks beside Yui Kanazawa, the party's candidate in the Tokyo 15th district by-election on April 28. Nippon Ishin lost in this by-election as well as another in Nagasaki held on the same day.

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