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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
Apr 29, 2009
Japan takes measures to head off contagion
The government on Tuesday heightened scrutiny of incoming tourists, warned Japanese living in Mexico to leave, and told those planning to go there to think twice after the World Health Organization raised the alert level for a new type of influenza.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2009
China, Iran hit for nuke secrecy
Shedding light on China and Iran's secretive nuclear arms programs is key to advancing global disarmament, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said Monday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2009
China lacks moral sway: Dalai Lama
NARITA, Chiba Pref. — China must get rid of its autocratic policies and install moral authority if it wants to establish itself as a true global superpower, the Dalai Lama said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2009
Holbrooke lauds Mideast, Japan for Pakistan aid
U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said Saturday that Middle Eastern nations, including Iran, played a key role in gathering aid for Pakistan at the Donors Conference in Tokyo the previous day.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2009
Donors line up $5 billion for Pakistan
About 50 nations and international groups pledged in Tokyo on Friday to give strife-torn Pakistan more than $5 billion in aid after President Asif Ali Zardari vowed to continue a war against extremists still raging eight years after the Sept. 11 attacks.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2009
Nakasone, Yu maintain focus on staying engaged with North
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone and South Korean counterpart Yu Myung Hwan agreed Thursday to take North Korea's latest threats in stride, saying members of the six-party denuclearization talks should continue to focus on defanging the hermit state.
JAPAN / Q&A
Apr 10, 2009
What did Japan's response to the North's rocket prove?
When North Korea sent what it claims was a rocket carrying a satellite over the Tohoku region Sunday, the Self-Defense Forces units deployed to possibly intercept it held their fire because the craft apparently posed no threat to Japan's territory.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2009
Nakasone unbending on launch
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone continued Tuesday to push for a forceful response to North Korea's launch of what it purports was a satellite, though the likelihood of a fresh U.N. resolution condemning the action is fading in the face of opposition from China and Russia.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2009
North said in driver's seat after 'triumph'
Sunday's launch of what Pyongyang called a satellite — but many others around the world saw as a ballistic missile test — is a "triumph for North Korea," analysts said, because it gives the reclusive state plenty of diplomatic leverage as it pursues its nuclear program and handles the succession...
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2009
Two false alarms leave Japan egg-faced
North Korea may have spent Saturday toying with a jumpy Japan over its plan to send a rocket over the Tohoku region, but it managed to cause a meteoric embarrassment to Tokyo — twice — without ever pushing the launch button.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2009
MSDF shoos away suspected pirates
A Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer scared off apparent pirate vessels approaching a Singapore-registered tanker Friday off Somalia, the Defense Ministry said.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 17, 2009
Found in 'Area 51,' he goes by one name
Pitching greats Daisuke Matsuzaka and Yu Darvish are leading Japan's star-studded squad as national teams battle it out in the United States in the World Baseball Classic.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2009
Experts doubt MSDF's antipiracy mettle
The Maritime Self-Defense Force got the word Friday to send two destroyers to combat pirates in the Gulf of Aden, but experts quickly questioned whether the flotilla would be able to protect Japanese vessels — let alone themselves.
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2009
Steam for Somalia, MSDF told
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada issued the order Friday to send two Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers on a patrol for pirates off Somalia.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2009
Coast guard officers join antipiracy team
The Japan Coast Guard assigned eight officers Monday to the planned Maritime Self-Defense Force antipiracy mission off Somalia as concern lingered over the dearth of details regarding the dispatch.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2009
Abductee kin to meet North spy
Relatives of a Japanese woman abducted by Pyongyang will meet a former North Korean spy Wednesday in hopes of learning her fate, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2009
MSDF Somalia dispatch slammed by opponents at rally
Lawmakers and activists on Thursday slammed the imminent dispatch of Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers to the Gulf of Aden, calling it irrational and a threat to the Constitution.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2009
Enhanced, permanent MSDF antipiracy law approved by ruling bloc
A proposal on a new permanent antipiracy law that would enhance the Maritime Self-Defense Force's rules of engagement off Somalia got the green light Wednesday by a ruling bloc policy panel.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2009
Capitalism needs full makeover: Walesa
Capitalism will not survive unless it undergoes a full makeover and focuses on benefiting people, former Polish President Lech Walesa said Monday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2009
Nakasone to seek 'gyoza' poisoning update on China trip
Japan will seek an update from Beijing on its probe into last year's food poisonings linked to frozen "gyoza" dumplings made in China, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said Friday.

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