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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 / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 15, 2011
Media starting to tally the economic effects of foreigner flight
News reports immediately following the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant accident of panicked foreign residents lining up for the first flight home — in many cases advised to flee by their own governments — had the initial result of helping to feed the sense of angst among Japanese...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 9, 2011
A further understanding of how money talks
In my previous column on the subject of 金 (kin or kane), alternatively meaning money, gold or metal, I realized that I'd barely scratched the surface of this vast subject. What forms does money take? How is it handled? Or, for that matter, how is it mishandled?
CULTURE / Books
May 8, 2011
Japan's ancient and modern sleuths deftly nab the culprit
THE FIRES OF THE GODS, by I.J. Parker. Severn House, Surry, 2011, 247 pp., $28.95, (hardcover), THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X, by Keigo Higashino. Minotaur, 2011, 298 pp., $24.99 (hardcover) "The Fires of the Gods," the eighth installment of I.J. Parker's saga of Heian Period official Sugawara Akitada,...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 1, 2011
Tabloids warn of major quake beneath Tokyo
Now that northeast Japan is gradually shifting into recovery mode and the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis is becoming more manageable, new themes have been emerging in the vernacular media. One is the life expectancy of the cabinet of PM Naoto Kan.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 17, 2011
Japan's food crisis goes beyond recent panic buying
The neon lights of Ginza flickered out, leaving Tokyo's favorite playground in ominous darkness. Drivers fumed while waiting in long lines to purchase gasoline. Goods disappeared from supermarket shelves, sending housewives on forays into neighboring prefectures in search of everyday items such as toilet...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 13, 2011
Start learning the golden rules about kin and kane
Television broadcasts of last February's political upheaval in Egypt were regularly interspersed with scenes of the pyramids at Giza. Seeing them, I was reminded that the word for pyramid in Japanese is 金字塔 (kinjitō, "a tower in the shape of the character kin [金]"). (Note the similarity,...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 27, 2011
Local media react to the events of March 11
For Japan's vernacular media, the March 11 disaster and its aftermath is the proverbial 800-pound gorilla that engulfed coverage of most other news. The items that follow give some idea of the scope of reporting over the past two weeks.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 20, 2011
Sumo seeks to recover from disaster of its own making
If March 13, 2011, had been a normal Sunday in Japan, at around 4:30 p.m. this writer would have popped open a beer, grabbed a packet of shelled peanuts, switched on his TV and watched the first day of the Osaka Grand Sumo Tournament on NHK.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 13, 2011
Consumed by the darkness
PEOPLE WHO EAT DARKNESS: The Fate of Lucie Blackman, by Richard Lloyd Parry. Jonathan Cape, 2011, 404 pp., £17.99 (hardcover) This July 1 will mark 11 years since former British Airways stewardess Lucie Blackman agreed to accompany a customer at the Roppongi club where she had been working as a...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 6, 2011
'Galapagos' has evolved as an analogy for Japan
English naturalist Charles Darwin put Galapagos on the map, having visited the group of islands, situated in the Pacific Ocean some 970 km west of continental Ecuador, in 1835, during the voyage of the HMS Beagle. His impressions and observations of the islands' unique biosystem contributed to his 1859...
CULTURE / Books
Feb 27, 2011
Murder and mystery behind the burqa
CITY OF VEILS, by Zoe Ferraris. Little, Brown and Company, 2010, 393 pp., $24.99 (hardcover) One device frequently used by writers of mystery fiction is the intrusion of some force to obstruct the investigator's job, which sometimes takes the form of a powerful adversary or a repressive political...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 23, 2011
How a fine sensei began my journey with language
You've probably heard the famous saying, 千里の道も一歩から (senri no michi mo ippo kara, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step), attributed to both 老子, Roshi, Laozi) and 孔子 (Kōshi, Confucius).
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Feb 20, 2011
Aspiring animator comes to Japan to chase her dreams
It's fun to walk down the street or get aboard a train with Tracey Seals and watch how Japanese people react. Once they notice the blue-eyed, bespectacled 21-year-old redhead from Mississippi in their midst, some break out in smiles. And others do double-takes, as if they've just seen an anime character...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 13, 2011
When criminals bask in the media spotlight
"Before I committed that incident, I was given many opportunities from my parents and others close to me. But I disregarded these. I never gave any consideration to my privileged situation."
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 6, 2011
There be all kinds of monsters among us
An old saying goes "Issun no mushi ni mo gobu no tamashi" (even a one-inch worm has a half-inch soul); i.e., even the most humble and powerless creature can put up with only so much before turning on its tormentor.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 23, 2011
The countdown: six months and a day till TV goes digital
Quick: what happened in Japan on Sept. 10, 1960? A few people might recall that was the day Japan commenced color TV broadcasting. At the startup, color programs were few in number, but consumers still had four years and one month to buy a color set before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 16, 2011
Korean wordsmiths strut their stuff
YOUR REPUBLIC IS CALLING YOU, by Yong-ha Kim. Mariner Books, 2010, 326 pp., $14.95 (paper) INTO THE LIGHT: An Anthology of Literature by Koreans in Japan, by Melissa L. Wender. University of Hawaii Press, 2011, 226 pp., $22 (paper) I didn't expect a novel about a North Korean mole ordered to...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jan 16, 2011
Back to the future of a 'hotel for 2001'
The year was 1979. His Imperial Majesty Emperor Hirohito was in the 54th year of his reign. Japan's prime minister was Masayoshi Ohira. In 1979, people still paid for goods with ¥500 bills. There was no consumption tax or Internet, there were no cell phones and no Japanese were playing in the U.S. major...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 29, 2010
Looking back on 2010 one word at a time
Perched majestically at the summit of the clutter on my desk this sunny December morning is a copy of the 2011 edition of Jiyukokuminsha's 「現代用語の基礎知識」("Gendai Yōgo no Kiso Chishiki," "Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words") — all 1,688 pages of it.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 19, 2010
Final word on the year's best reading
Over the past 12 months I've been refamiliarizing myself with Swedish mystery fiction.
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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Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals

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