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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.
For Jun Hongo's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 3, 2013
Photos of opponents found stabbed in Aum facility
Photographs of the director general and other officials of the Public Security Intelligence Agency were found stabbed through with a knife during an on-site inspection of a facility connected to Aum Shinrikyo, according to the agency.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 22, 2013
Tower Records defiant in face of CD slump
Declining sales of CDs over the past decade may indicate a grim future for music shops, but Ikuo Minewaki believes there is still a place for brick and mortar retail outlets.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 20, 2013
April sales tax hike a given: Amari
Japan will answer the world's call and present a credible midterm fiscal plan by implementing the sales tax hike as planned next April, economic revitalization minister Akira Amari said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 18, 2013
Economists split on Abe plan
Top economists remained divided Monday over whether Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" policies will bear fruit but all saw eye-to-eye on the need for deregulation and new growth strategies.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jun 14, 2013
Proof of 'Abenomics' pudding is in execution
The third pillar of 'Abenomics' approved by the Cabinet may have lacked the impact of its two predecessors, but everything will hinge on the steady execution of all three.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2013
Rescued castaways go home to Kiribati
Two Kiribati natives who were rescued by a Japanese trawler in mid-May after spending some three months adrift go home after recovering from their ordeal.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2013
BOJ stands pat, unriled by stock, JGB chaos
The Bank of Japan keeps its radical monetary easing policy unchanged and reports that the economy is picking up amid 'a recovery' in exports and investment.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2013
Miuras cite red bean rice, dirty jokes
Steamed red bean rice and dirty jokes may have been the key for climbing Mount Everest at age 80, famed alpinist Yuichiro Miura and his son, Gota, said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2013
Cote d'Ivoire leader makes case for broader ties
Pledges to assist African development show "lots of generosity" but Japan can benefit from extending assistance in a variety of fields, Cote d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2013
Africa also has stake in UNSC reform: Abe
Japan and African nations must cooperate to push forward United Nations Security Council reform in order to realize better global governance, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2013
Tunisian leader touts investment opportunities
Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki on Sunday invited Japan's businesses to invest and play a major role in his country's transition toward democracy and a free-market economy.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2013
Japan to provide disaster expertise
Japan is primed to provide its disaster prevention expertise to Africa as climate change continues to threaten sustainable growth on the continent, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Sunday at the African aid conference.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2013
British resident missing in Tokyo
Police and the British Embassy are seeking a 40-year-old British CEO who vanished in Tokyo more than a week ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NURTURING PARTNERSHIPS
Jun 1, 2013
TICAD's to-do list extensive, 20 years on
Looking back on the Tokyo International Conference on African Development and its achievements over the past 20 years, Masaki Inaba touched on the number of flights that now directly connect Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
JAPAN
May 30, 2013
Flak dooms handbook pushing motherhood
A government task force discussing measures to boost Japan's low birthrate has scrapped an idea to give young women handbooks informing them of certain medical facts — including those pertaining to infertility — faced by some women in their late 30s.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 28, 2013
Tokyo's Koreatown emerged from the flow of bilateral ties
Diplomatic friction between Tokyo and Seoul over territorial and historical disputes is making headlines once again, and Tokyo's right-wing protesters know just where to go to get in the face of its Korean residents: Koreatown in Shinjuku Ward's Shin-Okubo district.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
May 25, 2013
'Abenomics' still has long way to go
The recent volatility of the Nikkei 225 stock average should not be a cause for alarm, government officials assured Friday, but pundits pointed out that "Abenomics" seems to have a long way to go until the economy begins to show a robust and steady recovery.
JAPAN
May 22, 2013
Women to get larger role in Cool Biz
Female office workers are being enlisted in the fight against global warming as the Environment Ministry prepares its Super Cool Biz campaign for a June 1 kickoff.
Japan Times
Reference / Q&A
May 15, 2013
Monju: Generating only misfortune
The troubled Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor made headlines again when the Nuclear Regulation Authority said it apparently plans to ensure the facility remains idled after announcing that the Japan Atomic Energy Agency failed to properly inspect some 10,000 components, including critical ones.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 13, 2013
China bird flu can still pose threat: expert
The new bird flu outbreak in China hasn't spread to Japan yet, but Tokyo must stay on guard, the head of the influenza countermeasures panel warns.

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree