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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.
Japan Times
JAPAN / LIGHTING THE OLYMPIC FLAME
Sep 23, 2013
Games planners target airport access
Upgrading Tokyo's dense infrastructure for the 2020 Games may be tricky, but a new subway line and an expansion for Haneda airport are on the drawing board.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2013
Studies on mouse rehab music and onion tears win Ig Nobels
A study on how opera may prolong one's life and research into the complex mechanism of how chopping onions causes tears have earned two Japanese groups an Ig Nobel prize.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / 'SUMMER DAVOS' SPECIAL 2013
Sep 10, 2013
Abe hoping to prove to the world that Japan truly is back
Tokyo's victory for the right to host the 2020 Olympic Games is a reassurance to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent go-to catchphrase, "Japan is Back," with the slogan having appeared as the subtitle of the government's growth strategy and even as the title in one of Abe's policy speeches.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / 'SUMMER DAVOS' SPECIAL 2013
Sep 10, 2013
Advising visitors to truly see Japan with their own eyes
Last summer at age 66, Seiichi Kondo climbed Mount Fuji for the first time in his life. Friends warned it wouldn't be an easy expedition, and it wasn't. But conquering Japan's highest mountain was essential for what he was about to do next.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 9, 2013
Japan's April-June real GDP growth upgraded to annual 3.8%
An upward revision to Japan's gross domestic product gives the government yet another favorable signal for raising the sales tax next April.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 5, 2013
Data show twisters form over Kanto in September
Damage to people and property by tornadoes made headlines over the past week, with the latest in Tochigi Prefecture injuring three people while destroying houses and other buildings.
Japan Times
Reference / Q&A
Aug 21, 2013
'Barefoot Gen' pulled as anti-war images strike too close to home?
The decision by the board of education of Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, to limit students' access to the manga series "Hadashi no Gen" ("Barefoot Gen") at school libraries continues to cause a stir. While some support the move, others say it disrespects the best-selling anti-war classic, which tells the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2013
Southern All Stars' latest hit delves into foreign relations
A chart-topping song by the Southern All Stars is stirring talk over its political content as Japan experiences heightened tensions with both China and South Korea over historical and territorial disputes.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2013
Tax hike backers seize on positive GDP data
Real gross domestic product rose an annualized 2.6 percent in the three months to June, bolstering the Abe administration's claim its economic policies are succeeding.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2013
Cyberterror threat stalks Japan's high-end toilet users
Cyberterrorists could strike at your most vulnerable and least expected moment because of a glitch in a smartphone-controlled high-tech toilet system manufactured in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2013
Tokyo beach reopens after five-decade effort
The seawater by Tokyo's Kasai Rinkai Park is only slightly cooler than body temperature, and its beach contains a mix of tiny gravel and seashell fragments instead of fine white sand.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 8, 2013
BOJ puts off more monetary easing
The Bank of Japan on Thursday put off additional monetary easing and maintained its assessment from the previous month that the economy is "starting to recover moderately."
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2013
23 residents sue to keep Setagaya off plates, claiming violation of their privacy
Residents of Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, are suing the central government to stop the introduction of license plates that they claim will violate their privacy and are being forced on them.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2013
Missing British expat left Tokyo with company cash?
A British expat who vanished in May and was feared a victim of foul play may have left Japan with some of his company's cash in hand.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2013
Hayao Miyazaki: Leave Constitution alone
Anime master Hayao Miyazaki blasted the government's push to revise the Constitution, saying that politicians without any understanding of history "shouldn't be messing" with the foundation of the country.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / BALANCING INTERESTS
Jul 24, 2013
High-end grape grower has no TPP gripe, just sees green
Grapes grown on Takanobu Watanabe's farm in Tomi, Nagano Prefecture, are still chartreuse this time of the year, as the summer heat boosts the berries' sugar content before veraison, the onset of ripening.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / BALANCING INTERESTS
Jul 24, 2013
Students getting down and dirty
School's out for summer — and students are leaving their books behind to hit the beach under the sun.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2013
Poll outcome may benefit economy
With the ballots tallied and the opposition crushed, observers predict the ruling bloc's landslide victory Sunday amid the third-lowest voter turnout ever for a House of Councilors poll will have a positive impact on the economy and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's stewardship of it.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2013
Tastes like chicken? New 'unagi' product uses fowl in place of eel
If your "unagi" (grilled eel) dish tastes eerily similar to chicken this summer, that may be because it is.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 15, 2013
Nintendo brought arcade games into homes 30 years ago
On July 15, 1983, Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. launched the Family Computer video game console, or "Famicom." Priced at ¥14,800, more than 63 million units of the iconic white, red and gold machine were sold worldwide, laying the foundations for today's gaming industry.

Longform

Wozme, founded by dancer and choreographer Wakaba Kohei, is composed of Kana Kitty, Ami Ishii, Akane Watanabe and Natsuki. Its aim is to inject elegance and beauty, traits traditionally associated with femininity, into the sometimes grotesque art form of butoh dance.
Wozme, an all-women dance troupe, wants to move the needle in butoh