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July 16, 2024
 

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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
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 7, 2015
From 'faboru' to 'sanoru,' words define what people said, read and bought in 2015
A closer look at the Japanese words that have made headlines and become part of the lexicon over the past year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 23, 2015
When kanji components sound off, be sure to pay attention
Many common kanji include easily recognizable phonetic components that give a pretty good idea of how they should be read.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 21, 2015
Press gets tense over possible terrorism in Tokyo
Look around, if you will, for a waste receptacle on any station platform in the Tokyo metropolitan area; you won't find one. Their disappearance, a precautionary measure against urban terrorism, can be dated to the immediate aftermath of the nerve gas attack on the city's subway system by members of...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 31, 2015
U.S. sea patrols fuel war of words in print
As this column went to press, the Japanese media had their collective attention focused on a potential hot-spot in the disputed South China Sea, where the destroyer USS Lassen, in a modern-day show of "gunboat diplomacy," took an in-your-face drive-by (or sail-by if you prefer) past Chinese encamped...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 31, 2015
'Allegiance' depicts the isolation and struggles of Japanese-Americans during WWII
Caswell "Cash" Harrison, the protagonist in this legal thriller set during World War II, is a fortunate young man. Fresh out of Columbia Law School, his family ties to the network of Philadelphia patricians promises him a cozy legal career. But having failed his military physical on a technicality, Harrison...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 26, 2015
Why the Hanshin Tigers play in a stadium named after rats
Exploring the weird and wonderful animal kingdom and the roots of critters' kanji.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 17, 2015
Councilors get loud on library revamps
As testimony to their characteristically low profile, Japan's public libraries seldom make the news, although two recent exceptions come to mind.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 3, 2015
Japan's elderly can't live off happy memories
Around the first week in December, lifelong-learning company U-Can sponsors an event that designates the top buzzwords of the year. Almost certain to be in the running for first place this year is "karyū rōjin" (low-class elderly people), a term that has been spreading like wildfire since summer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 19, 2015
Yakuza infighting puts nation on edge
Around the start of this year, the weekly magazines — Shukan Taishu, Asahi Geino and Shukan Jitsuwa in particular — were brimming with articles feting the centennial anniversary of the Yamaguchi-gumi, which had gone from being a small group of tough guys on the Kobe waterfront in 1915 to...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 7, 2015
The search begins: tips for tapping the Net in Japanese
If you want to have any hope of success in searching for data on the Web in Japanese, you're going to need to work at obtaining competence in keyboard input of the language.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 5, 2015
Death? War? What's next for the games?
Two years to the week that Tokyo won its bid over Istanbul and Madrid to host the 2020 Olympic Games, major stumbles in planning and preparation have caused the shining promise to take a nosedive.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 22, 2015
Abe catches heat from the weeklies in the dog days of summer
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces such a constant stream of stumbles and irritants, it's hard to identify which of them is causing his biggest headache.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 8, 2015
Weeklies' summer specials feature sports, crimefighting, frozen treats and horror
The National High School Summer Baseball Tournament this year observes its 100th anniversary, and Asahi Geino (Aug. 13) recalls 10 hard-fought games at Koshien Stadium that fans still remember. In a short follow-up, the magazine introduces the "new monster," as he's being called, 16-year-old Kotaro Kiyomiya,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 1, 2015
The top-secret flights that ended the war
Seventy years after the atomic bombings, time stands still on the Pacific island of Tinian.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 1, 2015
Exploring Japan's military past
History buffs in Japan can also visit a variety of sites related to this country's military past. In addition to the enormous Yushukan Museum on the grounds of the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward (www.yasukuni.or.jp/english/yushukan), numerous spots with historical significance can be found within...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 27, 2015
A crash course in wartime Japanese terminology for foreign demons
Ahead of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, here's a look at the words, phrases and concepts that found wide usage in the fateful years leading up to 1945.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 18, 2015
History, hexes feature in criminal potpourri
In addition to their regular mixture of celebrity gossip and scandals mixed with practical advice for readers — such as how to quit smoking or winning pachinko techniques — the weeklies also treat their readers to snippets of Japanese history.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 4, 2015
Will hot-selling book bring Kobe killer in from the cold?
'June 28, 1997. I ceased being me. It was the day I was expelled forever from the world of sunshine. Up to then, I had nonchalantly spent my days unaltruistically, each passing day framed by the next as in a film, until the day when, suddenly, I began to be stigmatized as an enigmatic being.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 29, 2015
The reigning 'Queen of subtitles,' in her own words
For the past four decades, after the lights dim and curtains go up at cinemas around Japan, the credits that have flashed on screens at the start of hundreds of foreign films have acknowledged subtitle translator Natsuko Toda.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 20, 2015
Tabloids revel in South Korea's MERS misery
Schadenfreude, a word of German derivation, is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "a feeling of enjoyment that comes from seeing or hearing about the troubles of other people." A more succinct definition would be "malicious glee."
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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