Mark Schreiber - The Japan Times

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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

Dec 21, 2019

Japanese media pundits deliver their verdicts on 2019's hit products

While consumers may take ownership of certain products for granted, there's something reaffirming about acquiring a product that's been designated a hit, and my experiences over the years tell me Japanese aren't especially different from other nationalities in this regard.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN

Dec 7, 2019

The long arm of the law can't be rushed in Japan

In Japan, 2019 will be remembered as a year that ended twice. In addition to the Western calendar year, which ends on Dec. 31, April 30 marked the final day of year 31 of the Heisei Era, thereby bringing an end to the reign of Emperor Akihito, who had abdicated in favor of Crown Prince Naruhito. From...

Japan Times

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

Nov 26, 2019

You say 'Nihon,' I say 'Nippon,' or let's call the whole thing 'Japan'?

There's a famous part of Tokyo called Nihonbashi, but a place in Osaka using the same kanji is pronounced Nipponbashi. When do you use the 'ho' and when do you use the 'po'? It depends on what everyone else is saying.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN

Nov 23, 2019

As Japan's infrastructure crumbles, who's footing the bill?

In the run-up to next year's Olympics, construction is everywhere — everywhere except, perhaps, in the places it is most needed. While the government is rushing to put its best foot forward and put a polish on Japan's capital and environs, the situation is becoming increasingly dire in rural areas,...

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN

Nov 9, 2019

2020 races move north to Sapporo as cooler heads prevail

"It's like you're submerged underwater, but the water is boiling, and you're kind of halfway cooked" — that's how one distance runner described conditions at the women's marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championship in Doha on Sept. 27-28.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Books / 2010S: DECADE IN REVIEW

Nov 2, 2019

Our critics' favorite Japanese books of the decade

As 2020 approaches, The Japan Times' book reviewers look back at a decade of literature and their favorite and most impactful books written about Japan or by Japanese writers.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN

Oct 26, 2019

The mysterious case of Japan's vanishing bookstores

Decades of writing a column about the country's media industry has imparted me with a strong sense of familiarity with media personalities, companies, publications and sales channels. When they expire, it often hits me hard.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN

Oct 12, 2019

Consumers look for ways to blunt impact of consumption tax hike

Japan's consumption tax on goods and services has arguably been unpopular from the get-go. Introduced at 3 percent in 1989 as a means of improving public finances, the rate was raised to 5 percent in 1997, 8 percent in 2014 and, from Oct. 1 of this year, to 10 percent.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN

Sep 28, 2019

New generation of quasi-gangsters fly under police radar

Mainstream media last month broke a long-standing silence they've had concerning the activities of Japan's organized crime groups, which are referred to in official circles as "boryokudan" (violent groups) or, colloquially, as "yakuza."

Japan Times

LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL

Sep 9, 2019

Would you mind filling out this form in Japanese?

Filling in forms in Japan can be a minefield, a task sent to test your fluency and patience. Knowing what to expect at your local clinic, bank and post office can prove the difference between confusion and comprehension.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN

Sep 7, 2019

Speed bumps and potholes on the road to 2020 Tokyo Olympics

When planners proposed the opening date of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, they pored over historical weather data in search of the day with the lowest statistical likelihood of rain. It turned out to be Oct. 10. Happily that day, a Saturday, was fine. As the national teams marched onto the track of Yoyogi...

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN

Aug 24, 2019

Double bubble, tapioca tea and garbage trouble

Food and beverage fads come and go. On frequent occasions, "Gatten," NHK's health-oriented Wednesday evening program, used to present evidence that eating this food or drinking that beverage achieved seemingly miraculous results, including weight loss, lower blood pressure or relief from...

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN

Aug 10, 2019

Spooky tales from the dead abound over Bon season

"Actually I was wavering over whether or not to publish this story," writes Kyoto-based compiler Nobuo Yuki in "Wailing of a Restless Ghost." It's one of a series of five books from publisher Bunko Ginga-Do under the title "Exceptionally Scary True Ghost Stories" — which many in Japan like to read...

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN

Jul 20, 2019

New era aside, Showa nostalgia continues to keep rolling along

The new Reiwa Era is now into its third month and histories are starting to appear about the Heisei Era that preceded it. In late June, the publishing arm of the Mainichi Shimbun released a 384-page softcover book titled "Heisei-shi Zenkiroku" ("Chronicle 1989-2019"). The same week, the Nikkei Shimbun...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN

Jul 20, 2019

'Shadows of Tokyo': Assassinations, nationalism and intrigue in Taisho Era noir

Matthew Legare's 'Shadows of Tokyo' portrays the somber zeitgeist of Japan's capital in 1931, where rightist assassins armed with swords, handguns and bombs stalk key political and business figures.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN

Jul 6, 2019

Friction growing in Osaka over rising foreign population

The guests from the gala Group of 20 conference may be gone, but Osaka continues to garner attention in the media.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN

Jul 6, 2019

'The Last Train': High-stakes crime in glitzy Roppongi

'The Last Train' is a fast-paced police procedural with well-crafted prose, but suffers from a series of minor research errors.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN

Jun 22, 2019

Japan's print media ponder wealth, poverty and pensions

One of my recollections from the bubble economy of the 1980s was a passage in a 1987 book titled "Hokokuron" ("The Theory of National Wealth"). Its author, the late economist Taiichi Sakaiya, stood out as one of the bubble era's most fervent cheerleaders.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN

Jun 8, 2019

Japan's convenience stores work hard to stay relevant

Ride the Seibu Shinjuku Line to Iriso Station in the city of Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, and you can enjoy shopping at Japan's oldest franchise convenience store, a Family Mart that opened in September 1973. The following May, the nation's first 7-Eleven outlet was opened in Toyosu, Koto Ward — not...

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN

May 25, 2019

Fatal traffic mishaps put drivers in the media spotlight

"Heartbreaking accidents have continued to occur although measures have been taken," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said ruefully at a meeting of government officials on May 21.

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

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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