Keiji Hirano - The Japan Times

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Keiji Hirano

For Keiji Hirano's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

JAPAN

Oct 6, 2008

Lawyers decry expansion of poverty, seek remedy

Poverty is expanding in Japan, with people more likely than ever to be employed on a temporary basis and making low wages, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations said during a two-day meeting on human rights.

JAPAN

Aug 16, 2008

Group takes fresh look at 'secret' Okinawa reversion pact

Was the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japanese sovereignty from the United States fairly carried out, or did the government flub its accountability?

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jul 29, 2008

Brutal killers' missives find outlet

The books and memorandums Hiroyuki Shinoda, 56, has published were not penned by the conventional writer, but instead are the works of death-row inmates.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jul 11, 2008

Exhibit on wartime sex slaves showing in Tokyo

Japan's only resource center on sex slavery is holding a special exhibition in Tokyo on how women were exploited in China by the Imperial Japanese Army and how they have struggled since the end of the war.

JAPAN

May 29, 2008

Book about juvenile offender believed crossed the line

A book about a boy accused of torching his home in Nara Prefecture in 2006, resulting in the deaths of his stepmother and two siblings, has sparked controversy over the way misdeeds committed by juveniles are covered.

Japan Times

JAPAN

May 21, 2008

First archival studies graduate course starts

Gakushuin University in Tokyo has launched Japan's first graduate course for archival studies with the aim of training experts to maintain past as well as contemporary documents and hand them down through the generations.

Japan Times

JAPAN

May 10, 2008

Booklet on sexual slavery printed to fill omissions in history texts

A booklet describing the sexual slavery carried out by the Imperial Japanese Army has been published to serve as a bridge between the victims and those who haven't had a chance to learn about the wartime atrocities.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Apr 30, 2008

Film aims to reform criminal justice system

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations has produced a documentary on Japan's criminal justice system, featuring the acquittal of 12 defendants in an election law case in Kagoshima Prefecture, to raise public awareness of problems in the legal system.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Apr 11, 2008

Experts doubt wisdom of proposal to let victims attend juvenile trials

Panelists at a symposium this week in Tokyo voiced concerns over the government's proposal to revise the Juvenile Law to allow crime victims or their next of kin to observe minors' trials, which are basically held behind closed doors.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Feb 14, 2008

Japonesia is valuable alternative to mainstream

A small publisher is struggling to expand the circulation of its biannual English-language magazine, which features hard-hitting stories on controversial issues, including the overseas deployment of the Self-Defense Forces and gender equality.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Feb 2, 2008

Teachers await verdict on national flag, anthem suit

Hiroko Arai was looking forward to teaching high school English as a nonregular instructor following her mandatory retirement as a full-time teacher, as part-timers are exempt from most miscellaneous duties and can focus purely on course instruction.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jan 23, 2008

Fight to clear mass-killer's name unending

Takehiko Hirasawa has devoted himself to clearing the name of his adoptive father, who was convicted in the Teigin Incident, the most notorious mass-poisoning case in postwar Japan.

JAPAN

Nov 25, 2007

Pro-Article 9 groups rally at national assembly

About 1,000 people from across the country converged on Tokyo Saturday to hold an assembly to speak out and counter any moves to revise the pacifist Constitution.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Nov 21, 2007

Victims' trial role to be avengers?

Legislation to enable people victimized by crime to question defendants in court and state the severity of punishment they want meted out, even before any determination of guilt, may turn courts into venues for revenge and render defendants even more vulnerable, a Tokyo forum was told.

JAPAN

Nov 14, 2007

Surveillance society eroding public freedoms, rights: forum

Should people be required to put public security first over their constitutionally guaranteed rights if it might prevent crime? Should visitors to Japan have to put up with being fingerprinted if it might catch terrorists?

JAPAN

Oct 31, 2007

'54 letters bear out kids' nuclear fears

the threat of nuclear bombs, it also has an important place in the history of Japan's wooden fishing boats," he said. The Fukuryu Maru was used as a training vessel for 10 years by Tokyo University of Fisheries after its radioactivity was confirmed two years after the blast to have fallen to safe levels. It was abandoned in the 1960s at Yumenoshima, at the time a vast Tokyo Bay garbage dump.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Oct 13, 2007

Ainu hope U.N. move aids indigenous status quest

For Tadashi Kato, the U.N. General Assembly adoption of a declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples around the world after more than 20 years of debate was long-awaited good news.

JAPAN

Sep 28, 2007

Web site documents wartime sex slaves

have lived for more than half a century after the war, suffering practically as much as they did during the several years they spent in military comfort stations," it says. The museum also preserves the testimony of several former comfort women.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Aug 1, 2007

10 years after hanging, killer still offers lessons to be learned

Even though 10 years have passed since Norio Nagayama was executed for the murder of four people, his name still gets into the news.

JAPAN

Jul 28, 2007

Lay judge system rife with problems: opponents

Osamu Ogawa was elected chairman of the Saitama Bar Association in February, and stated his opposition to the citizen judge system scheduled to debut by May 2009. Under the new system, six so-called lay judges, selected from the adult public, will examine serious criminal cases, including murder, alongside three professional judges to decide whether a defendant is guilty or innocent and hand down a sentence. The verdict will be decided by a majority vote among the nine.

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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