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November 23, 2024
 

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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
Jun 26, 2010
Kan, officials jubilant over soccer success
Top officials were jubilant Friday about Japan's overnight triumph over Denmark at the soccer World Cup, with Prime Minister Naoto Kan offering congratulations to the Blue Samurai from his Toronto-bound government jet.
JAPAN / DECISION 2010
Jun 25, 2010
Showdown could reshape political scene
The last House of Councilors election in 2007 heralded a change of regime, with the then ruling Liberal Democratic Party losing control of the chamber. That loss was followed by the swift resignations of two LDP prime ministers, before a crushing defeat in the House of Representatives poll last August...
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2010
Consumption tax hot topic in first debate
Leaders of the ruling and opposition camps engaged in their first televised debate Tuesday ahead of the July 11 Upper House election, offering different takes on the crucial but politically unpopular topic of raising the consumption tax.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2010
Sales tax hike to take a few years: Kan
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Monday it would take at least two to three years to increase the consumption tax.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2010
Renho vows to cut waste
While a sales tax hike may be on the horizon, the government will remain unyielding in its quest to eliminate wasteful spending, new state minister in charge of government revitalization Renho says.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2010
DPJ, LDP platforms test tax hike waters
The ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the opposition camp unofficially began campaigning Thursday for the July 11 Upper House election, by releasing their platforms, and both sides seemed to be dancing around a tax hike.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 2010
Kan said Okinawa should become independent state?
Remarks last year by Naoto Kan on Okinawa made waves Wednesday after a book by an Upper House member from the prefecture said the new prime minister recently recommended it should become independent from Japan.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2010
Futenma plan firm, Kan tells Nakaima
Prime Minister Naoto Kan reiterated Tuesday his intention to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within Okinawa, telling Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima that the agreement reached by the Hatoyama administration with the U.S. will stand despite the change of Cabinet.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2010
Cabinet funds stay secret: Sengoku
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku hinted Friday that disclosure of the Cabinet's controversial discretionary funds will not take place anytime soon, saying the issue needs a thorough examination to avoid tampering with national interests.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2010
Kan targets tax reform to repair economy
Stressing the need for tax reform to restore the country's battered finances, Prime Minister Naoto Kan vowed Friday in his first policy speech to the Diet that he will exert strong leadership to overcome Japan's economic struggles.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2010
Kan keeps the media at arm's length, scales back interviews
Just days after forming his Cabinet, Prime Minister Naoto Kan has already been faced with tough decisions, including whether to extend the Diet session and how to turn around slumping stocks.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2010
Renho beats drum against waste
Renho, the new state minister in charge of government revitalization, reiterated Wednesday her intention to trim waste in special account budgets, saying some aspects of the spending technique call for a thorough investigation by her team.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 9, 2010
'Freshness' of Cabinet faces voter scrutiny
The Democratic Party of Japan was quick to see in weekend opinion polls a reversal in its sagging fortunes after Naoto Kan was voted in as its president. The new prime minister has formed a Cabinet whose ranks include opponents to scandal-tainted DPJ strongman Ichiro Ozawa, who quit as secretary general...
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2010
First order of business: Remedy nation's debts
New Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Tuesday reiterated his intention to work toward restoring Japan's fiscal balance, stressing in his inaugural remarks that the economy's plunge in recent years was the result of steering clear of tax hikes and relying too much on government bonds.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2010
Kan's picks for DPJ limit Ozawa's role
Members of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan approved on Monday the selection of new Prime Minister Naoto Kan's DPJ executives, with the influence of party kingpin Ichiro Ozawa conspicuously absent.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2010
Quiet end to a vexed tenure
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama returned to his office Wednesday minutes after announcing his resignation and was greeted by hoards of reporters expecting a comment from the once-popular leader.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2010
Hatoyama quits as prime minister
Ending a turbulent eight months in office, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Wednesday he will step down to take the blame for his Cabinet's plunging approval rate, brought on by funds scandals and the row over relocating a U.S. base in Okinawa.
JAPAN
May 31, 2010
SDP decides to bolt from ruling coalition
The Social Democratic Party said Sunday it will leave the tripartite ruling coalition after its leader, Mizuho Fukushima, was kicked out of the Cabinet last week for opposing its decision to keep a contentious U.S. military base in Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 29, 2010
Hatoyama's tenure in doubt as poll looms
With the Futenma debacle just the latest of the Democratic Party of Japan's broken pledges, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is increasingly being seen as a liability as his party faces July's Upper House election.
JAPAN
May 28, 2010
Henoko to be named base site
The government will name the Henoko coast of Nago in Okinawa as the relocation site for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in a joint statement with the United States to be issued Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said.
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
Man charged with murder allegedly made victim date other men for money
A car carrying suspect Ryotaro Masuda, who was indicted for allegedly beating his 25-year-old girlfriend to death, leaves the Shibuya Police Station in Tokyo on Thursday.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ex-yokozuna Kitanofuji dies at 82
Yokozuna Kitanofuji enters the ring during the May 1970 grand sumo tournament in Tokyo.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.

Podcast

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