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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
CULTURE / Books
Jun 3, 2017
'The Spy Across the Table': Jim Brodie returns in tautly written thriller
While at the opening of a kabuki performance at the Kennedy Center's Opera House theater in D.C., two close friends of San Francisco art dealer and martial arts practitioner Jim Brodie are gunned down by a professional assassin. One of them, Sayuri Tanaka, was a former college roommate of America's first...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 27, 2017
Magazine snares rival 'scoop thief' red-handed
In its May 25 issue, Shukan Shincho set pens a-pushing and tongues a-wagging throughout the nation by accusing rival weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun of engaging in sneaky schemes to steal its thunder.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 15, 2017
Reciting the rescript to flaunt your Japanese
If you'd like to learn the Imperial Rescript on Education as a Japanese memory test, it's less than a single A4 page in length.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 13, 2017
North Korea news simmering on front and back burners
Returning from their Golden Week holiday break, the weekly magazines have directed much of their attention to the Korean Peninsula, with a fusillade of commentary by politicians, former diplomats, journalists, academics and the ubiquitous commentators referred to as gunji hyoron-ka — usually translated...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 13, 2017
'The Name of the Game is a Kidnapping': Crime novel lacks a detective or PI but entertains nonetheless
Bachelor executive Shinsuke Sakuma is an egotistic narcissist with a callous attitude toward females, preferring one-night stands to serious relationships.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 29, 2017
Donald Trump's 'first 100 days' is down for the count
In American newspapers, wire services, cable TV and blogs, U.S. President Donald Trump is beset by a host of recurring brickbats, from complaints over his refusal to make public his income tax returns and alleged Russian connections, to his reputation as a male chauvinist and propensity to cite conspiracy...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 10, 2017
Short, sweet and to the point: the one-line retort
'Kankei nai' is the ultimate brush-off, meaning 'Nothing to do with me.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 1, 2017
Easter in Japan shows signs of life as businesses tap the final festival frontier
Easter is one of the few major calendar events in the West that goes largely unnoticed here — until now, anyway.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 18, 2017
The Japan tabloid guide to health and happiness
An alien first encountering Japan's weekly tabloid magazines might conclude he has come to Earth in a nation of inquisitive hypochondriacs.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 13, 2017
Toto rolls out droll toilet humor with a whiff of class
Sit back and relax as this week's Bilingual column splashes on the results of Toto's 2016 Toilet Senryu Contest.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 11, 2017
'Tokyo Nights': Hard-boiled detective fiction set in Tokyo's meaner streets
When 19-year-old Natasha Philips is found drowned, Manchester police attribute her death to "misadventure." But the girl's wealthy father suspects foul play and, convinced the police are incompetent, secures the services of private investigator Colin McCann — against McCann's better judgment.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 4, 2017
Japan's magazines get misty-eyed over Showa Era brothels
Commencing with the death of Emperor Taisho on Christmas Day, 1926, the Showa Era ran for 62 years and two weeks, ending with the death of Emperor Hirohito (posthumously referred to as Emperor Showa) at the age of 87 on Jan. 7, 1989.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 25, 2017
'The Gentleman from Japan': Impersonation and intrigue in China and Europe
"You don't know anything, you like noodles, and you aren't Japanese. Can we put that on your gravestone?"
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 11, 2017
Defiant Apa paints a target on its back
"The Japanese airplanes attacked, and a total of 1,200 men, roughly half the victims of Pearl Harbor, died in action on the USS Arizona. ... In general, the powder magazine at the ship's bottom is not induced to explode in a bombing and it would not have caught fire and blown up six minutes after the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 6, 2017
Some fiendishly complex archaic kanji just won't die
Even in the 21st century, a whole bunch of difficult, nonstandard and archaic kanji don't appear to be in any danger of being phased out.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 28, 2017
2017: a year for sumo nostalgia
On Jan. 22, 30-year-old ozeki (champion) Kisenosato (real name Yutaka Hagiwara) emerged victorious in the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament with an outstanding record of 14 wins and only one loss. His promotion to history's 72nd yokozuna (grand champion) was confirmed by the Japan Sumo Association three...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Jan 9, 2017
Feel young again with the 'yokozuna' products of last year
Back in 1971, a newly launched newspaper covering retailing and distribution, named the 日経流通新聞 (Nikkei Ryūtsū Shimbun, subsequently named Nikkei Marketing Journal), was looking for a promotional idea. It came up with a real winner by mimicking a 相撲番付 (sumō banzuke,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 7, 2017
Figuring out Japan's unsolved mysteries
As a visit to any large public library or online search will reveal, Japan boasts a superb body of crime literature, both fiction and nonfiction. Among these, English readers may be most familiar with a half-dozen works by Seicho Matsumoto (1909-92). Many of his novels, such as "Kuroi Fukuin" ("The Black...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 24, 2016
Japan reconsiders and reinterprets the Pearl Harbor attack
In May, U.S. President Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to make a historic visit to Hiroshima, the city that became the birthplace of the age of nuclear warfare. It should come as no surprise that Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is scheduled to make a reciprocal gesture of reconciliation...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 19, 2016
Japanese buzzwords capture the zeitgeist of then, now and what's to come
Take a journey through the buzzwords of years past and present — and hazard a guess at what's coming in 2017.
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.
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.
Amid same-sex marriage ban, LGBTQ couples opt for 'photo weddings'
A lesbian couple, consisting of a 35-year-old woman (left) and 40-year-old woman, cover their faces with bouquets as they pose for wedding photos in Yokohama on Nov. 1.
China and Russia conduct joint Pacific military patrol
The Russian corvette Gromkiy enters the Chinese port of Zhanjiang as part of a joint China-Russia naval exercise on Saturday.
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.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

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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