For Takuya Karube's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japanese officials have been busy over the past two weeks observing operations in and around the Asian Games venues in Indonesia to learn things that could help Tokyo put on a successful Olympics and Paralympics in 2020. The priorities they focused on during the 16-day ...
Chessy Prout, an American teenager who spent most of her childhood in Japan, initially felt a sense of powerlessness as the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault gained steam last year. About four years before the movement evolved into a global force, Prout, now ...
A ruling party heavyweight has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Tokyo next year, as the two countries show promising signs of strengthening their sometimes strained relations. The invitation was made on Thursday by Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, during his ...
North Korea's decision not to carry out a sixth nuclear test or a major missile launch in connection with its key anniversaries in April, contrary to widespread predictions, could herald a return to behind-the-scenes diplomacy between Pyongyang and Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has ...
Japanese movies have the potential to give fresh impetus to efforts by Tokyo and Beijing to warm political relations in 2017, as evidenced by the recent smash-hit animation "Your Name." in China. Yoji Yamada, a prominent Japanese film director whose latest comedy's remake is to ...
China sees a six-day visit by North Korea's most popular all-female band as important, an ambassador said Wednesday, as the ensemble left Pyongyang for its first concerts abroad. In the latest sign of warming relations between China and North Korea, the Moranbong Band and some ...
Until a decade ago or so, Japanese was one of the most popular languages studied by elite students in North Korea, even though the two countries have never had good relations, diplomatic or otherwise. But today the situation is very different. At the only North ...
North Korea has nearly completed a fresh investigation it promised Japan last year into the fates of Japanese citizens allegedly abducted by the country decades ago, according to a senior North Korean diplomat. "What is obvious is that (North Korea) has conducted the investigation in ...
China staged a massive military parade Thursday celebrating with fanfare the 70th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II, but not all Chinese were glued to the spectacle: Many had fled, for Japan. Japan was one of the most popular overseas destinations for Chinese ...
China is wary that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision to call a snap election may lead to policy changes that would affect bilateral relations, amid tentative signs of thawing ties between the two countries. Abe's political gamble to dissolve the Lower House, with two more ...
