is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese astronomer

Astronomer

An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...

 and a member of the group Hokkaido Showakusei Suisei Kaigi. With his colleague Kazuro Watanabe

Kazuro Watanabe

is an amateur Japanese astronomer. He was born in Hokkaidō, Japan and is a member of the Astronomical Society of Japan and Oriental Astronomical Association....

 he discovered 22 asteroid

Asteroid

Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...

s between 1989 and 1991, including the asteroid 4644 Oumu

4644 Oumu

4644 Oumu is a main-belt asteroid discovered on September 16, 1990 by Atsushi Takahashi and Kazuro Watanabe at Kitami Observatory.- External links :*...

(1990 SR3) in 1990. The minor planet 4842 Atsushi was named in Takahashi's honor at Watanabe's suggestion.

Takahashi and Watanabe discovered asteroid 5214 Ōzora on November 13, 1990, while working at Hokkaido Kitami Observatory. 5214 Ōzora is named for Super Ōzora, the first express train in Hokkaido.