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 Mark Schreiber

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Mark Schreiber
Mark Schreiber worked as a salaryman in travel, consumer electronics, computer software, advertising and market research before turning to translation and writing full time. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he has lived in Tokyo since 1966.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 2, 2016
Emotions run high over Tsukiji fish market's move
In 1590, more than 2½ and a half centuries before Edo was to become Tokyo, the city's first central fish market, named Uogashi, was established on the bank of Nihonbashi River.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 18, 2016
How Trump fares in Japan's tabloids
If Japan's weekly magazines appear to be devoting an inordinate amount of space to coverage of U.S. politics this election year, it's thanks largely to the flamboyant antics of Donald Trump, who can be counted on for verbal outbursts and surprises.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 4, 2016
The struggles of a local sumo hero
An oft-repeated question these days, and one not necessarily confined to sports media, is whether 29-year-old wrestler Kisenosato will make it to sumo's highest rank. Or is he destined to remain a perennial bridesmaid?
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 30, 2016
How breaking news bulletins in Japan evolved from lights to bytes
From news tickers to TV alerts, a look at the ways breaking news was disseminated in the days before the internet and social media.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 21, 2016
The second life of Kakuei Tanaka
In July 1976, the month when 218 million Americans were feting their nation's 200th birthday, dramatic events were taking place on other continents also. On July 4 — America's Independence Day — an Israeli commando force staged a dramatic raid on Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 7, 2016
Have you read any good mooks lately?
The word "mook" is a portmanteau of the words "magazine" and "book." I had long assumed, mistakenly, that it was one of those examples of wasei-eigo (Japan-made English terms), such as "open car" (a convertible) or "virgin road" (the aisle down which the bride walks at a wedding ceremony). But from online...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 2, 2016
Stalking the elusive subtleties of Japan's political humor
Certain Japanese publications are rife with political word play, and deciphering these puns and riddles can be a fun challenge for language learners.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 23, 2016
The sudden exit of Japan's convenience store pioneer
Among last week's dispatches from earthquake-hit Kyushu was an article in Yukan Fuji (April 19) about the "battle for food provisions" in the city of Kumamoto.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 4, 2016
Luckily for English speakers, machine translation still can't match a native's touch
The consensus is that translation will one day inevitably be taken over by computers — but we're not there yet.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 2, 2016
Shincho gets back in tabloid battle with scoop on Ototake
When the weeklies go to war, nobody's safe.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 19, 2016
Japan's tabloids book front-row seats at the Trump circus
Donald Trump. And now that we've got your attention ...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 5, 2016
Bunshun editor Manabu Shintani returns in a blaze of scoops
Shukan Bunshun magazine has been making headlines since late January thanks to a string of major scoops on no fewer than seven topics.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 29, 2016
Joining Japanese words together to reveal the true nature of things
Once you understand how the pieces fit together, you can magically turn verbs into nouns and vice versa, expanding your Japanese vocabulary by leaps and bounds.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 20, 2016
Deja vu as Shukan Shincho turns back the clock
The title of the Japanese government's White Paper on the Economy for the 31st year of Showa (1956) was "The 'postwar' era is over." That same year, a delegation from the World Bank headed by Alfred Watkins spent five months studying the feasibility of extending a loan for an expressway linking the cities...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 6, 2016
Does sumo commentary need to stress the foreignness of the wrestlers?
Let's scroll 10 years back to 2006, when a wrestler named Tochiazuma emerged victorious in the January Grand Sumo tournament. That win, by a native Japanese grappler, was already a rare occasion, as Mongolian yokozuna (grand champion) Asashoryu almost completely dominated the sport and another Mongolian,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 23, 2016
Tabloids go nuclear on North's bomb test
On Jan. 6, North Korea once again stunned the world with a test of what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb, ratcheting up tensions in northeast Asia.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 9, 2016
Publisher Takarajima-sha bets on shock therapy to revive its fortunes
With the temporary demise of its flagship publication, Takarajima looks to Showa nostalgia and shock ads in a bid to stay relevant.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 9, 2016
Pacific Burn
Who's killing off members of Kyoto's artistic Nobuki family, and why? First a son is murdered on a visit to Napa, California; then a sniper nearly succeeds in gunning down the father, a famous artist. After the younger son and his fiance are thrown off a precipice in Kyoto, the sole daughter — an anti-nuclear...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 4, 2016
From Airbnb to LGBT, 'hit products' capture the zeitgeist of 2015
A look at the products, services and other economic activities that stood out during the previous 12 months, according to the Nikkei Marketing Journal.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 19, 2015
Gangs, girl power and getting old: Japan's magazines ring out 2015
A roundup of the final weekly magazines of 2015 finds many preoccupied with the split within the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza group.

Longform

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