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Hiroshi Matsubara
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2004
Soliciting for oldest trade with Shibuya-style spin
Announcements at a JR Shibuya Station exit warn people to be on guard for strangers approaching them, and police outside are on constant watch to ensure pedestrians aren't accosted.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2004
Justice sought for traffic accident victims
A year after his brother was reduced to a vegetative state by the actions of a drunk driver, Masahiro Kizawa was shocked to hear the words of a local prosecutor.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2004
Crackdown has publishers running scared
Yasunori Okadome last month suspended publication of his profitable monthly gossip magazine Uwasa-no-shinso (The Truth Behind Rumors), due to fears that a lawsuit could put him out of business for good.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2004
Temporary magazine sales ban threatens freedom of expression
The Tokyo District Court's temporary injunction banning the sale of the weekly Shukan Bunshun over an article about the private life of a Diet lawmaker's daughter triggered debate over the issue of privacy vs. freedom of expression.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2004
High court rescinds weekly's injunction
The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday revoked a lower court injunction against the publication of a magazine that carried a story on the divorce of former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka's daughter, citing freedom of expression and the public's right to know.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2004
Iranian family faces deportation as justice minister wins court reversal
The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday overturned a lower court ruling that nullified a deportation order for a visaless Iranian family, effectively putting the family back on the deportation track.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2004
Suspects to get notebooks to record interrogations
Beginning next month, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations will begin printing and distributing formatted notebooks in which criminal suspects can keep records of interrogations by police and prosecutors.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2004
Asylum-seeker prefers death before detention
An Afghan asylum-seeker suffering depression and posttraumatic stress disorder tried to kill himself last week while being moved from a hospital in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, to a detention facility, it was learned Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2004
Justice system a vehicle for order -- or revenge?
Nearly five years after four teenagers murdered his son, 53-year-old Mitsuo Sudo has gone public about his grief, and his beef with the criminal justice system.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2004
Hokkaido police skimming tip of iceberg?
After earlier denials, Hokkaido police officially came clean and admitted in early March that one of the force's stations had misappropriated funds meant for rewarding informants.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2004
Injunction upheld against latest issue of Shukan Bunshun
The Tokyo District Court on Friday upheld a temporary injunction banning publication of the latest edition of the weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun, judging that one of its stories violates the privacy of former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka's daughter.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2004
More medical aid sought for sarin attack survivors
A group acting on behalf of surviving victims of Aum Shinrikyo's nerve gas attacks petitioned the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry on Friday, asking it to expand medical aid programs so that they cover all sufferers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2004
Tokyo suit seeks site of Korean school
A nondescript appendage of central Tokyo would seem an unlikely place for a showdown, but for the Korean community shunted off during the war to the man-made island in Koto Ward, the canal surrounding their enclave is like a moat for a castle under siege.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2004
Cabinet OKs reform package boasting lay judges
The Cabinet approved a package of bills Tuesday designed to revamp the judicial system, including a bill that would introduce a quasi-jury system under which randomly selected citizens would sit on the bench for criminal trials.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2004
22% say foreigners' rights secondary to locals'
Foreigners in Japan should not expect to have the same human rights protections here as Japanese, 21.8 percent of respondents in a fiscal 2002 survey said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2004
Penalty is what those victimized by Aum's crimes wanted
People victimized by Aum Shinrikyo's crimes voiced relief Friday that cult founder Shoko Asahara would pay for the deaths of 27 people with his own life.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2004
Gay Iranian recognized by UNHCR loses bid for refugee status
The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday rejected a lawsuit filed by a 40-year-old Iranian seeking recognition as a refugee on the grounds he would be punished due to his homosexuality under Iran's Islamic penal law.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2004
Cult's reign of terror left the victimized with unhealing scars
Whenever she goes to the Tokyo District Court, Shizue Takahashi must pass the spot on the Kasumigaseki subway station platform where her husband, Kazumasa, 50, collapsed and fell into a fatal coma on March 20, 1995.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2004
Aum's organization just a shell of its old flush self
Doomsday may soon be a self-fulfilling prophecy for Japan's infamous cult.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2004
Asahara a social fiend or doting guru?
Over the course of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara's eight-year criminal trial, Tokyo prosecutors have portrayed him as a religious charlatan who used his teachings only to feed his lust for power and fame.

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