author

 
 
 Jun Hongo

Meta

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
Dec 4, 2008
Undaunted India vows to prevail over terror
India will continue to value fundamental freedoms and will emerge stronger in the face of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Indian Ambassador to Japan Hemant Krishan Singh said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2008
North nuke verification must be in writing: Saiki
Negotiators on North Korea's denuclearization confirmed Wednesday that they will press Pyongyang during next week's six-party talks to agree to verify its nuclear disarmament in writing.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2008
Tamogami says views shared in Diet, SDF
Ousted Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami stuck to his revisionist historical views Monday, saying his justification of Japan's wartime acts is shared by many lawmakers and Self-Defense Forces personnel.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2008
SDF mission comes to 'successful' end
Government officials expressed satisfaction Friday over the successful conclusion of the Self-Defense Forces missions in and near Iraq, but some experts complained that the pullout was long overdue.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2008
Japanese man among the slain
A Japanese businessman was among the scores of people killed in Mumbai by multiple terrorist attacks on major landmarks in India's financial capital, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2008
Sex slave victims press for apology
Victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery were joined by international activists and lawmakers Tuesday to demand what they call a proper apology and compensation from the government for its past atrocities.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2008
Masuda defends 'hawkish' classes
The Defense Ministry will continue to provide a balanced education at its Joint Staff College, but will not immediately respond to criticism that some of its lecturers are known to hold nationalistic views, Vice Defense Minister Kohei Masuda said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2008
Tamogami views no secret
Unsworn testimony before an Upper House committee last week shed light on axed Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami's nationalist views, but questions persist over how such a vocal revisionist was appointed ASDF chief to begin with.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2008
Aso raises eyebrows with nonwords and wrong words
Prime Minister Taro Aso may want to set aside his comic books and cut down on the bar-hopping in exchange for some kanji tutoring.
JAPAN / History
Nov 14, 2008
Aso: What POW servitude?
Prime Minister Taro Aso was forced to defend his family firm's alleged wartime deeds Thursday, as the revisionist essay by ousted Air Self-Defense Force chief Gen. Toshio Tamogami continued to cause a political stir.
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2008
New territorial row brewing
In the latest territorial flap between South Korea and Japan, a bipartisan group of lawmakers voiced concern Wednesday over growing South Korean capital investment in Nagasaki Prefecture's Tsushima, an island city only 50 km from the Korean Peninsula.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2008
Afghanistan welcomes Japan's help, urges greater contribution
Halting borderless acts of terrorism calls for a unified international effort in Afghanistan, including a continued contribution by Japan, experts said Monday during a symposium at the Afghan Embassy in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2008
New ASDF chief Hokazono sorry for Tamogami's 'damaging' essay
The nationalist essay that proved the undoing of Air Self-Defense Force chief Gen. Toshio Tamogami was "inappropriate" and "damaged public trust" in the ASDF, his successor, Gen. Kenichiro Hokazono, said Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2008
Bilateral ties will remain strong in all aspects: Schieffer
The alliance between Japan and the United States will remain strong regardless of the imminent change in U.S. administrations, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer said Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2008
Repeat of Clinton-era friction, concerns unlikely
Democrats in the United States and residents in the town of Obama, Fukui Prefecture, may be getting carried away Wednesday by news of Sen. Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2008
Alliance unfazed by Tamogami: U.S. general
The revisionist essay by the former chief of the Air Self-Defense Force that has caused a controversy over Japan's wartime role will not affect the country's security alliance with the United States, the commander of U.S. Forces in Japan said Tuesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2008
Axed ASDF chief hawk till the end; no apology
Sacked Air Self-Defense Force chief Gen. Toshio Tamogami defended his nationalist essay Monday, claiming his justification of the war Japan waged in the last century was intended to instill the country and its people with a sense of confidence.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2008
Tibetans will decide strategy with democracy: Dalai Lama
The people of Tibet should and will decide negotiation strategy with China later this month through a genuinely democratic manner, the Dalai Lama said Sunday.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2008
Nakasone raps report on North
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone on Friday denied media reports that North Korea has no plan to reinvestigate its abductions of Japanese nationals.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2008
Japan extends claim to undersea territory
Japan will file a request with a U.N. commission to claim rights to continental shelves in the Pacific Ocean beyond its Exclusive Economic Zone in hopes of tapping into greater undersea natural resources, a government panel on ocean policies said Friday.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat