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November 22, 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 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.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 10, 2016
Editors thrive on controversy — but it can bite back
In the early hours of Jan. 17, 1995, the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck southern Hyogo Prefecture and the surrounding areas, causing more than 6,000 deaths and seriously damaging infrastructure.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 26, 2016
Hand over the keys: getting Japan's elderly drivers off the road
On Nov. 12, in the city of Tachikawa in western Tokyo, an 83-year-old female driver — while reaching out her car window to insert a parking ticket into the toll gate machine in a hospital parking lot — accidentally pushed down on the accelerator and lost control of her vehicle. It crossed the road...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 21, 2016
Painful bloopers in Japanese can be valuable learning experiences
While working on the island of Guam in the early 1970s, I had regular business dealings with the expat Japanese business community — basically a good-natured crowd who were used to hearing locals mangle their language on a daily basis.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 12, 2016
'Under the Midnight Sun': Keigo Higashino returns with a trail of dead and disappeared
Those who were in Japan in the winter of 1973-74 will recall the aftermath of the Arab-Israeli War: many public baths conserved oil by operating every other day; the neon lights of Ginza were blacked out; and commodity shortages spurred panic buying of laundry detergent and toilet paper.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 29, 2016
Japanese media cautiously tackle the U.S. election
During the first half of this year, coverage by Japan's print and broadcast media of America's presidential primary campaigns and debates was heavier than usual. But as the two remaining contenders stagger toward the finish line, one gets the impression that Japanese are just as weary as their American...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 24, 2016
Whenever you meet katakana, expect the unexpected
A second dive into some of the many ways the katakana syllabary is put to use when writing Japanese.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 22, 2016
Rape allegation casts harsh light on university club
Bright and vivacious young women are in great demand as TV announcers. For many in Japan, the stepping stone to a career in broadcast news has been the annual Miss Keio contest, held during the autumn festival at the nation's most prestigious private university: Keio, in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 17, 2016
How do I struggle with katakana? Let me count the ways
The fuss over the use of the 'shin' katakana in the 'Shin Godzilla' film's title highlights the mystery that surrounds this often-frustrating syllabary.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 8, 2016
Seeking remedies for maladies new, old and absurd
The Sept. 29 cover of Shukan Bunshun was adorned with an illustration of legendary New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth, portrayed by Makoto Wada in a pinstripe uniform and with bat in hand.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 24, 2016
Japan's future typhoons: disruptive, deadly and destructive
Six typhoons have made landfall this year on the Japanese archipelago, already giving 2016 the distinction of being the second-worst year in terms of direct typhoon hits in modern times. But it's only Sept. 25 — the season's not nearly over and we're getting closer to matching or surpassing the 2004...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 12, 2016
Can Japanese speakers really read Chinese? It depends on what you mean by 'read'
Will acquiring the ability to read Japanese give you some degree of literacy in Chinese? Well, it could at least give you a head start.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 10, 2016
Godzilla hits middle age but is still fueled by Japan's anxieties
Within one month of its July release, Toho's "Shin Gojira" ("Godzilla Resurgence") attracted more than 3.6 million viewers. Box-office takings are already estimated to have surpassed ¥5.3 billion, putting the film more than halfway toward the seldom-attained figure of ¥10 billion. Toho has great expectations...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 27, 2016
Japan's super-rich: fun to envy, difficult to emulate
Japanese multimillionaires are the object of intense study by members of the country's middle class, especially those who entertain probably unrealistic hopes of emulating them.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 8, 2016
安: a peaceful character for these turbulent times
One kanji character that learners encounter at a fairly early stage is u5b89, pronounced 'an' or 'yasuraka' and meaning 'peaceful' and, by extension, 'safe.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 6, 2016
Japan's media blast away at the 'Pokemon Go' craze
The nation's magazines have a whole lot ot say about the roaring success of Niantic's 'Pokemon Go.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 30, 2016
Crimes that imperil Japan's safe image
On July 22, The Japan Times ran an article with the headline, "Crime set to hit postwar low this year, first-half data shows." In it, the National Police Agency reported that the number of criminal offenses is on track to fall below 1 million for the first time since World War II ended, down from the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 16, 2016
Terrorism and sexual assault cast shadow over Japanese travelers
Surely if a prize were to be awarded for the week's most controversial article, it would go to Shukan Shincho's piece titled "If you're traveling abroad, here is a phrase from the Quran you should memorize."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 9, 2016
'The Silent Dead': A police procedural that works in strange, original ways
In this modern-day police procedural by Tetsuya Honda, homicide investigators are flummoxed by the discovery of two male corpses wrapped in blue plastic tarpaulins in, and near, a pond in Tokyo's Katsushika Ward. When similar submerged bodies are found in Saitama, the pressure builds to track down what...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 4, 2016
Free Japanese lessons await those who keep their eyes and ears open
To glean new vocabulary and useful insights, you have to make sure your mental switch remains in the 'on' position.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

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

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