Junko Ogura - Producer and Office Manager
Junko Ogura
Producer and Office Manager
Junko Ogura is an award-winning producer and office manager for CNN based at the network's Tokyo bureau.
Latest
American tourist arrested for allegedly defacing gate at Tokyo shrine
Nov 15, 2024
A 65-year-old American tourist has been arrested in Japan for allegedly carving letters into a torii gate at a Tokyo shrine.
Hello Kitty at 50: The mouthless face that launched an $80 billion empire
Nov 1, 2024
She has been a UNICEF ambassador, a special envoy for Japan’s Foreign Ministry and the subject of themed restaurants, cafes, two amusement parks and even a maternity hospital.
•
Video
4:36
Video
This Mars rover with a robotic arm was made by students
4:36
Oct 2, 2024
For the last two years, students in Japan have been building the ARES 7 Mars development rover that can navigate rough terrain and collect soil samples.
•
Video
1:39
Video
This mini moon rover could change how we capture images in space
1:39
Oct 2, 2024
SORA-Q is an exploration robot developed by the Japanese space agency that was sent to the moon as part of the SLIM Lander Mission in late 2023.
Fifth time’s a charm as former defense minister finally wins Japan ruling party leadership contest and will become country’s next leader
Sep 27, 2024
Former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba will become Japan’s new prime minister after winning his party’s leadership contest on Friday, following a crowded race that ended in a runoff vote.
Japan’s leader demands answers from China over schoolboy’s fatal stabbing
Sep 20, 2024
Japan’s prime minister has demanded an explanation from Beijing over the fatal stabbing of a schoolboy in the second knife attack on Japanese children in China in months.
Japan urges 4 million to evacuate as lumbering Typhoon Shanshan threatens south with up to a meter of rain
Aug 30, 2024
Almost 4 million people in southern Japan were urged to evacuate as Typhoon Shanshan made landfall Thursday, leaving thousands of residents without power and lashing Kyushu island with hurricane-force winds, torrential rain and dangerous storm surges.
Japan claims Chinese military plane violated its territorial airspace for the first time
Aug 27, 2024
Japan says a Chinese military intelligence gathering aircraft entered its territorial airspace off remote islands in the East China Sea on Monday, the first time Tokyo has accused the People’s Liberation Army Air Force of an airspace violation and a new irritant in frosty relations between China and Japan.
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he will step down next month, won’t run for re-election
Aug 14, 2024
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced he will step down next month and will not run for a second term as leader of the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party, following a series of political scandals that have fueled calls for him to resign.
Japan court orders government to pay damages for forced sterilizations under now-defunct eugenics law
Jul 4, 2024
In a landmark decision, Japan’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to pay damages to people who were forcibly sterilized under a now-defunct eugenics law, ruling the practice was unconstitutional and had violated their rights.
How Japan’s newest yen note came from the Nepali mountains
Jul 3, 2024
Banks across Japan began stocking their ATMs on Wednesday with shiny new yen notes sourced from an unlikely location – vibrant yellow flowering paperbush shrubs that grow on craggy Himalayan mountains in Nepal.
Japan reports record spike in potentially deadly bacterial infection
Jun 17, 2024
Cases of a dangerous and highly fatal bacterial infection have reached record levels in Japan, official figures show, with experts so far unable to pinpoint the reason for the rise.
She thought she found love in a Japanese host club. Then the bills ballooned – and she was coerced into sex work
Jun 8, 2024
Japan’s “host clubs” sell male companionship to lonely women. But some women end up deep in debt — and are coerced into sex work to pay it off.
Japanese officials inspect Toyota headquarters over safety certification scandal
Jun 4, 2024
Japanese officials descended on the headquarters of Toyota on Tuesday, after a safety test scandal at a number of automakers in the country widened this week.
One dead, seven missing after two Japanese military helicopters crash in Pacific
Apr 21, 2024
One rescued crew member has died and seven others are still missing after two Japanese military helicopters appeared to have crashed during a drill late Saturday, Japan’s Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said.
Japan seeks investment in AI, semiconductors from American companies
Apr 10, 2024
Once seen as America’s greatest economic challenger, Japan is now looking to work together by appealing directly to US executives to invest in the country’s emerging tech sectors including artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors and clean energy.
About
Junko Ogura is an award-winning producer and office manager for CNN based at the network’s Tokyo bureau. She is responsible for newsgathering in Japan and office administration.
Ogura joined CNN in 2000 and has covered all major news stories in Japan over the past two decades including the COVID-19 pandemic, the enthronement of Emperor Naruhito, the G7 and G8 summits, and the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. She was also part of CNN’s Rugby World Cup 2019 broadcasting team.
Ogura’s work has been recognized multiple times, including winning an Asian Academy Creative Award in 2019 for Best Lifestyle Program and an Asian TV Award for Best Lifestyle Program in 2017 and for Best Documentary in 2010.
Prior to CNN, Ogura worked for PBS as an associate producer and NBC as a producer. She has also freelanced for ABC, BBC and CBS.
Ogura studied education at Nippon University in Tokyo, and studied Spanish and psychology at Southwestern College and San Diego State University in California, U.S.
