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 Jun Hongo

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Jun Hongo
Jun Hongo graduated from Boston University and joined The Japan Times in 2006. He covers a wide range of domestic news, including politics and business. He is an avid Red Sox fan.
BUSINESS
Oct 11, 2012
Global debt woes said increasing
Bleak assessments of the global economy continued to emerge at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Tokyo Wednesday, with the IMF's Global Financial Stability report warning that market players' confidence remains fragile.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 11, 2012
French banker says Europe on track
The eurozone is properly addressing the cause of its financial crisis, though weaknesses persist and challenges remain, Bank of France Gov. Christian Noyer said Wednesday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Oct 10, 2012
Currency swap expansion will lapse
Tokyo and Seoul agreed Tuesday not to extend their expanded currency swap accord amid heightened territorial tensions.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 9, 2012
North Korea abductees mark decade since coming home
Oct. 15 will mark the 10th anniversary since five Japanese citizens were repatriated from North Korea after being abducted by Pyongyang's agents in the 1970s. The government claims that the North has failed to properly address the fate of 12 more Japanese abductees that remain missing, while others say...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 6, 2012
Government will take its time deciding on reporting standards, Nakatsuka says
New financial services minister Ikko Nakatsuka on Friday said the government still hopes to make a final decision on whether to adopt the International Financial Reporting Standards in the next few months, but only after it finishes weighing their potential impact on Japanese companies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 5, 2012
Jojima mum on South Korea currency swap extension
New Finance Minister Koriki Jojima said the government must "carefully consider" whether to extend the currency swap agreement with South Korea but refused to be drawn out on whether Tokyo will propose an extension.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2012
Japanese companies become protest targets in China
As anti-Japan protests in China rage with no end in sight, Japanese businesses there are seeing their operations disrupted, while government officials seek to limit the damage to economic ties.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2012
End of currency swap deal to test bilateral ties
The exchange of jabs between Japan and South Korea over the territorial dispute in the Sea of Japan will reach a key turning point in October when a temporary bilateral currency swap arrangement comes to an end.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2012
Nuke crisis tested oldest sake brewer
Over its 850 plus years, sake maker Sudohonke Inc. has endured wars, famines, earthquakes, plagues, droughts, storms and everything in between. But the nuclear crisis that started last year at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant was an unparalleled catastrophe that pushed it to the brink.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2012
56-day base age pushed for puppy, kitten sales
Sales of puppies and kittens would be prohibited until they are at least 56 days old under a planned revision of the Animal Protection Law expected to passed by the Diet this session.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2012
Power use falls; reactors unneeded
Sales by 10 major power utilities in July dropped by 6.3 percent due to a decline in demand, the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan has revealed.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2012
Asimo byproduct could revolutionize seniors' lives
A byproduct of Honda Motor Co.'s development of the Asimo humanoid robot may be about to come to the aid of Japan's aging population.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Aug 11, 2012
Legislation's OK just start of long, rough road ahead
The countdown to raising the sales tax officially began Friday with the Diet passing the necessary legislation, but the move is just the start of a long road that still lies ahead.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2012
Depth of Fukushima No. 1 evacuation plan unclear in videos
Scrutiny of the 150 hours of teleconferencing footage recorded by Tokyo Electric Power Co. in the initial days of the March 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 plant shows that crucial decisions were being made hastily.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2012
Hiroshima to grade states on disarmament
As the 67th anniversary of Hiroshima's atomic bombing approaches, the prefecture is trying a new tactic to achieve the goal of global nuclear disarmament.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 24, 2012
100 years of Summer Games
When the 293 Japanese athletes compete in the London Games that start Friday, they will represent a century of the participation in the Summer Olympics, starting with marathoner Shiso Kanakuri and sprinter Yahiko Mishima in Stockholm in 1912.
BUSINESS
Jul 7, 2012
IMF director praises consumption tax hike
The push by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his administration to raise the consumption tax is a key step that "will make the Japanese economy more agile and efficient," Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said Friday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2012
Business sentiment improves at nation's top manufacturers
Business sentiment among large manufacturers improved for the first time in three quarters in the three months through June, reaching minus 1, according to the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" index released Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2012
Uncommon June typhoon forces thousands to flee
In addition to causing historic rainfall across the nation Tuesday that forced thousands to evacuate, Typhoon Guchol was distinctive for being the first typhoon in eight years to make landfall in June.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2012
International Baccalaureate classes to be taught in Japanese: government
Students in Japan may soon be able to qualify to apply for foreign universities by attending educational programs taught in Japanese, according to the education ministry.

Longform

Dul Saroth (left) and Soeum Samrach, deminers with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, practice using the Advanced Landmine Imaging System in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province in August.
The Japanese tech that could one day make Southeast Asia landmine-free