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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
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Sep 3, 2011
Fiscal, economic rookies concern analysts
Financial experts on Friday were quick to voice their concern over the appointment of Jun Azumi as finance minister, saying the rookie Cabinet member will allow Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to push his own fiscal policies and may lack the authority to command the ministry's bureaucrats.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2011
Geithner vows continued close ties
Prime Minister-elect Yoshihiko Noda and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner agreed during a telephone conversation Wednesday to maintain close ties between the two countries in tackling global economic issues.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2011
Noda a grappler, wears many hats
Depending on who you ask, Yoshihiko Noda is a fiscal policy expert, a conservative who believes the Class-A war criminals were not in fact so, or the ailing Democratic Party of Japan's last hope to regain the public's trust.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2011
Loan program takes aim at surging yen
The government Wednesday unveiled a $100 billion program designed to extend loans to domestic firms to spur overseas investment, in a bid to both take advantage of and counter the effects of the surging yen.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2011
Fukushima fallout said 30 times Hiroshima's
Video footage of Tatsuhiko Kodama's impassioned speech before a Diet committee in July went viral online recently, showing the medical expert's shocking revelation that the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant spewed some 30 times more radioactive materials than the fallout from the Hiroshima atomic bombing....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2011
Budget request deadline delayed
The Cabinet approved plans Tuesday to delay the deadline for funds requests made by ministries for the fiscal 2012 budget by a month, citing work on the third supplementary budget and Prime Minister Naoto Kan's imminent resignation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2011
NGOs, academics call for abolition of nuclear plants
Antinuclear nongovernmental organizations and academics called for the complete abolition of nuclear power plants in Japan on Monday, the 66th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Japan Times
Reference / Special Presentations / WITNESS TO WAR
Aug 12, 2011
War memoirs digitized for posterity
27th in a series
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2011
Fukushima fish radiation excessive, Greenpeace says
Radiology and marine experts from Greenpeace said Tuesday that four out of eight samples of various fish obtained last month at five ports in Fukushima Prefecture exceeded the government-set limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram of radiation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2011
Brittleness factor of aging reactors key restart criterion
In the world of nuclear reactor science and safety, the ductile-brittle transition temperature, which is used to measure the strength of the inner wall of a reactor pressure vessel, is a critical factor.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2011
Radiation, debris vex Tohoku's fishermen
Four months after the quake and tsunami hit communities along the Tohoku coastline, fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture and nearby areas still find themselves in uncharted waters as contamination of the sea remains a major obstacle to their business.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2011
Radioactive debris dilemma unresolved, growing worse
Second of two parts
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 28, 2011
Daylight saving: Is it finally time to convert?
The nation's sweltering summers are threatening to become even more oppressive with the chance of power outages because of the Fukushima nuclear crisis and the reactor shutdowns that followed throughout the country.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2011
Shift to weekend work ups day care crunch
The nuclear crisis in Fukushima continues to extend its reach months after the March 11 disaster, with the latest repercussion hitting working parents across Japan who will be forced to work on weekends to save electricity but when day care centers are normally closed.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2011
Revision of energy policy needed but keep nuclear power, think tank says
The nation must drastically revise its medium- and long-term energy policy in light of the nuclear crisis in Fukushima, but completely abandoning the atomic power program "would rob the nation of its strength," an independent think tank led by former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2011
Widen evacuation zone for children, pregnant women: Greenpeace chief
The government should consider evacuating children and pregnant women from a wider area around the Fukushima No. 1 power plant because radiation levels remain high even outside the 20-km no-go zone, Kumi Naidoo, executive director of Greenpeace International, said Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2011
Parents urge Tokyo to rethink radiation monitoring
A group of Tokyo parents filed a request Tuesday asking the metropolitan government to change the way it determines radiation levels in the capital after their own study found relatively high levels of contamination around Koto Ward.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2011
Miyagi governor has big recovery plans, tells Diet to hunker down
Both the ruling and opposition parties must rise above the fight over the no-confidence motion this week and quickly focus their efforts on rebuilding the quake-hit areas in Tohoku, Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai said Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2011
Fatigue sets in on nuke responders
Workers at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant are facing an increased risk of accidents due to human error caused by chronic sleep deprivation and fatigue, an expert on social medicine said Wednesday in Tokyo, as he called for improved working conditions at the plant.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2011
Volunteers still in great need but tapering off
Sticking by a friend's side when times get rough is what proves one's worth as a volunteer worker — and Fukushima Prefecture will need such help for a long time in a variety of ways, says Yasuo Seki, an official at the Fukushima Prefecture Disaster Volunteer Center.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?