Masaru Goto has 20 years experience photographing social and human rights issues in South America and Asia, as well as in Japan. His photographs convey a strong message of compassion, highlighting the plight and resilience of ordinary people who are caught in conflicts, suffering oppression or economically disadvantaged. Masaru immerses himself in long-term documentary projects, spending time with the people in his images and sharing their sense of humanity. He also has participated in numerous campaigns on human rights and social issues. He strongly believes in sharing his photographs with civil society groups for advocacy and information campaigns on the issues he passionately examines in his work. Awards: ”The Grand Prize" Photo City Sagamihara, Mainichi Newspaper/2005 "The Ueno Hikoma Award" Kyushu Sangyo University & Mainichi Newspaper/2004 "The River of Life: Love and Illness" World Health Organization (WHO)/2004 "The International Fund for Documentary Photography (IFDP)” Fifty Crows Foundation/2002 Books: "Smile in Despair: Stories from a Cambodian AIDS ward" Mekong Publishing, Tokyo 2005 "Between Worlds: Twenty Years on the Border” TBBC, Bangkok 2004 "My Journal in Cambodia" Mekong Publishing, Tokyo 1999
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Thailand: Fragile Democracy In Crisis
By Masaru Goto
Posted in all, features, asia-pacific, news & global, slides on 24 April 2009
Stats: 1,007 views and No Comments

Thailand is now a divided in two: The anti-government group called the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), or simply THE RED SHIRTS, and the others wearing YELLOW SHIRTS, the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD). PAD crashed with the Thai police in October 2008, left two people dead and some 400 injured.  Then, [...]

Japan: Portraits of outcast people
By Masaru Goto
Posted in all, features, asia-pacific, slides on 5 March 2009
Stats: 4,431 views and 3 Comments

NIHON-JIN, BURAKU-MIN: Portraits of Japan’s outcast people
“The Buraku-Min (tribal people) compose one of the main minority groups in Japan, along with the Ainu of Hokkaidōand the Ryukyuans of Okinawa. Despite being thoroughly Japanese, racially and ethnically, the Buraku-Min still face discrimination and struggle under the weight of their shared history in Japan. “
<History of untouchables>
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