Hirono, Tatsushi

Dr. Hirono is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tennessee. He received his Ph.D. in Social Welfare from the Stony Brook, State University of New York.

Interviewing Buddhist Clergy in Fukushima, Japan: Buddhist Clergy's Disaster Relief Efforts from the Nuclear Power Plant Accident

2017 1-4955-0559-6
This books consists of two series of studies conducted by the author on natural disaster relief efforts and the roll of the roll of religious leaders in the United States and Japan. One of the studies focuses on the disaster relief efforts by interviewing Japanese Buddhist monks in Fukashima.

The Role of American Christian and Japanese Buddhist Clergy in Suicide Prevention

2012 0-7734-2603-5
The purpose of this study is to examine American and Japanese clergy’s perception of their role in the prevention of suicide. The research questions are: (1) How do clergy in the US and Japan perceive suicide?; (2) Do they see suicide differently?; and (3) How do they envision the role of suicide prevention? The hypotheses are: (A) Christian clergy think that suicide is an unacceptable “sin;” (B) Buddhist clergy are more accepting of suicide than Christian clergy; and (C) There are role differences related to suicide prevention in the Japanese and American religious communities; and (D) American and Japanese religious leaders have a different view of their obligations related to suicide prevention. The investigator sent 400 anonymous mail surveys respectively to New York and Tokyo. The surveys asked about the clergy’s personal beliefs and the Church’s role in suicide prevention. The investigator analyzed the responses using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The major findings are that many American Christian clergy consider suicide to be a sin; but that “God’s love is available for people who committed suicide.” Many Japanese Buddhist clergy think how one dies is not the most important issue.