author

 
Menu
Search
 
August 15, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
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
Jan 22, 2009
Japan aims to be seated when Obama resets diplomatic table
Barack Obama's inauguration as the 44th U.S. president may have gotten a new era for Tokyo and Washington under way, but the Japanese government is unlikely to be given the luxury of taking the relationship slow and easy.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2009
Congratulatory Aso requests early meeting
The government congratulated new U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday and was quick to request an early meeting with him.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2009
U.S. business envoy warns against protectionism amid economic woes
Japan should steer clear of protectionism and use its extraordinary wealth to stimulate its economy and become a much larger player in the global trading system, the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2009
Islands row must be resolved: Russian envoy
Japan and Russia can and must resolve their territorial dispute and forge a peace treaty to ensure bilateral and regional prosperity, the speaker of the Russian Council said Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2009
Departing Schieffer rues abductee issue
Departing U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer expressed regret Wednesday there was not more progress on the abduction issue during his stint but pledged to continue to support the effort to repatriate any Japanese kidnapped to North Korea regardless of his future post.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2009
Ishihara urges Obama to act on abductees
A group of governors seeking the return of Japanese abducted by North Korea called the U.S. delisting of Pyongyang from its terrorism blacklist "incoherent" and urged President-elect Barack Obama to take prompt action on the matter.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2009
Somali kidnappers release Japan doctor, Dutch nurse
Somali kidnappers have freed a Japanese doctor and a Dutch nurse after holding them in captivity for more than three months, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / THE MANY FACES OF CITIZENSHIP
Jan 5, 2009
A convenience in peace becomes matter of conflict in war
Last in a series
Japan Times
Reference / Special Presentations / WITNESS TO WAR
Jan 3, 2009
Recalling Nagasaki's fateful day
The city has long been rebuilt and moved on, but Hiroshi Ito still can't come to grips with Nagasaki's obliteration by the United States 63 years ago.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2008
Nakasone talks up '08 global achievements
Offering a positive assessment of Japan's diplomatic achievements in 2008, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone on Friday praised Prime Minister Taro Aso for working tirelessly to raise Tokyo's reputation within the international community.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2008
Tamogami's cohorts reprimanded
The Defense Ministry on Thursday reprimanded two people involved in encouraging Air Self-Defense Force personnel to enter a controversial essay contest won by sacked ASDF Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami and unveiled measures to prevent similar controversies.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2008
ODA budget faces pruning in fiscal 2009
The Foreign Ministry will pare spending by 1.4 percent in fiscal 2009 to a total of ¥670 billion, including a 1 percent cut in its official development assistance, according to a budget draft the ministry revealed Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 23, 2008
Gay scene: Tolerance, legal limbo
Some countries see homosexuality as a crime punishable by death, while others are open to diversity and make no judgment on the basis of one's sexual orientation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2008
Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul unite in face of crisis
FUKUOKA — Leaders of Japan, China and South Korea pledged Saturday to enhance coordination to counter the global economic turmoil in their first-ever trilateral summit.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2008
Global turmoil trumps trio's gripes
FUKUOKA — The global economic slump transcended historical and territorial rows in East Asia as Japan, China and South Korea met Saturday for their first trilateral summit and discussed ways to fight the financial meltdown.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2008
Japan must offer more than free gas
The Friday extension of the special law to continue the Maritime Self-Defense Force refueling mission in the Indian Ocean will prolong Japan's involvement in global antiterrorism efforts but both supporters and critics of the action agree the nation still has little to show for its efforts on the world...
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2008
Time to end Senkaku dispute: Wu
Japan and Taiwan should work to settle their territorial dispute in a peaceful manner and strengthen bilateral cooperation for the development of the East China Sea, the chairman of Taiwan's ruling Nationalist Party said Wednesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2008
Aso to ask Wen about intrusion
Prime Minister Taro Aso will bring up the issue of China's intrusions into Japan's territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands when he meets with Chinese Premiere Wen Jiabao on Saturday in Fukuoka Prefecture, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2008
Essay judges defend Tamogami
Organizers and judges of a controversial essay contest backed the contentious entry by former Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami, saying Monday its contents "awoke the Japanese public."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2008
Armitage calls for active role
U.S.-Japan relations will remain the pillar of president-elect Barack Obama's foreign policy in Asia, but Tokyo must play its part if it hopes to remain in the "driver's seat," former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Friday in Tokyo.
Japan to revise consumption tax exemption for overseas tourists
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo in April
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
Focus shifts to incoming typhoon as Tropical Storm Maria dissipates
Newly formed Tropical Storm Ampil, which is forecast to approach eastern Japan this weekend, is seen on the left side of this satellite image.
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
Economic security is about strengthening and sustaining growth, former minister says
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi says changes in the international balance of power, along with deepening economic interdependence, have led some countries to attempt to use their economic power to impose their will on others.
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’
By Thu-Huong Ha

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

JNTO promotes sustainable tourism initiatives
JNTO promotes sustainable tourism initiatives

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER