Gastric Cancer in Japan Nov 27, 2008
To the Editor: In their Perspective article (July 31 issue),1 Forman and Pisani ask, "Why does gastric cancer occur so frequently in Japan?" One answer was proposed more than 30 years ago by Matsudo et al.,2 who detected talc in the normal gastric mucosa and in gastric cancers in Japanese patients and suggested a causal relationship. Talc is used in Japan to polish rice, and it is customary to wash off the talc before cooking the rice. (New England Journal of Medicine)
Japanese Housewives May Judge Killers as Lawyers Condemn Latest Hangings Aug 24, 2007
We should feel emotions to some degree in judging, but we shouldn't let emotions control the ruling,'' said Kyoko Hamada, a 48-year-old homemaker from Matsudo city, northeast of Tokyo. Similar systems are used in some European countries, including Germany and Norway. (Bloomberg -- Japan)
Woman tells life story of moving from North Korea to Japan; returns to Pyongyang Jun 26, 2007
Two weeks later, she was living in Matsudo, in the Chiba prefecture, where she said she led an isolated life. Telephone and letter exchanges with her children always ended in tears, she said, adding that she should go home to them instead of having them come to Japan. (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
Read Justin's article Apr 17, 2007
Then, the dozens of low-rent, low-rise tenements in Matsudo city, north-east of Tokyo, were snapped up by young families leading Japan's rapid flight from postwar austerity towards a future of unprecedented wealth ... No national records are kept of the number of people who die alone, but in Matsudo in 2004 the number was 95, with men accounting for almost three-quarters of the total. (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
