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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
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 6, 2015
'Bottakuri' scams put the squeeze on the unwary
"On any given evening, you can see noisy quarrels between club staff and customers outside the local police box," attorney Katsuyuki Aoshima tells Asahi Geino (May 2), adding, "The police treat these as civil claims between the shop and the customer, and won't get involved, adopting the position of neutral...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 1, 2015
To know bamboo is to know Asia — and a whole lot of Japanese
This fast-growing plant has found its way into much of the language of Japan, revealing a great deal about the history and culture of East Asia.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 30, 2015
'Cash Crash Jubilee' depicts a future Tokyo where even involuntary bodily functions are patented
Eli K. P. William's debut novel "Cash Crash Jubilee" is set in the Tokyo of the not-too-distant future, where each time you blink your eyes, a company deducts several hundred yen from your checking account. Corporations are now empowered to charge people after registering involuntary bodily functions...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 23, 2015
The changing face of Tokyo's 'red-light' district
...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 9, 2015
The golden arches lose their luster
The sharp downturn in business at McDonald's — which has thrived for most of the past 44 years in Japan — has got everybody talking. This past January alone, revenues at existing outlets, the company announced, had fallen year-on-year by a whopping 38.6 percent, with losses for the 2014 business...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 25, 2015
U.S. towns pulled into Japanese politics
A recurring news story over the past several years concerns claims of the harassment of Japanese nationals residing on the East and West coasts of the United States. Most appear to have originated from municipalities where South Korean immigrants and Korean-Americans have successfully campaigned to erect...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 13, 2015
April: the season of newbies, nendo and Narita taishoku
April in Japan is a time for new beginnings, whether it be in terms of products, school or the world of work.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 4, 2015
Magazines fixate on the roots of poverty
The oft-seen expression ichioku sō-chūryū translates roughly as "the perception of 'the 100 million,' i.e., the entire nation, as belonging to the middle class."
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 16, 2015
Don't say you haven't been warned
I must confess, I never paid a great deal of attention to the warning messages and disclaimers that adorned packaging in Japan until 1972, when tobacco companies first got around to printing health warnings on packs of cigarettes. This was six years after the practice was adopted in the U.S., and the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 14, 2015
Seeking blame in a Kawasaki teen's death
On the morning of Feb. 20, police were summoned to the grassy, elevated bank of the Tama River, which forms the boundary between Tokyo and Kawasaki. They found the naked body of 13-year-old junior high school student Ryota Uemura, dead of multiple stab wounds. The same morning, the partly burned remnants...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 28, 2015
Inflammatory articles aren't helping mags' circulation numbers
In a controversial column by 83-year-old author Ayako Sono that appeared in the Feb. 11 issue of the Sankei Shimbun under the headline "Maintain a 'suitable distance,'" Sono suggested that when and if Japan changes its immigration policies to accept more foreign workers, they should live in racially...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 16, 2015
Exercise your intuition as you untangle chaotic headlines
Being somewhat 背が高い (se ga takai, tall), I shamelessly confess my height advantage — I stand about 188 cm — has facilitated my ability to 盗み読み (nusumi-yomi, literally "theft-read," meaning to read over other people's shoulders) on public transport.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 14, 2015
Media total up the targets for terrorist attacks
The 67-second video on YouTube opens with a black slate that reads, "A Message to Japan." The video then shows a kneeling journalist, Kenji Goto, clad in an orange outfit.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 31, 2015
The changing motives behind juvenile crime in Japan
In a thought-provoking article in the February issue of Bungei Shunju, veteran journalist Kunio Yanagida ponders changes in the patterns of crimes committed by juveniles that have taken place since the end of World War II.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 26, 2015
Japan's media grapple with free speech, faith and immigration after Charlie Hebdo attack
What does the Japanese media have to say about the recent events in France? The weeklies have got something for everyone.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 26, 2015
From laundry detergent to foreign tourism: The heavyweights of consumption in 2014
Toward the end of every year, the media, advertising agencies, think tanks and other organizations look back on the "hit products" whose successes helped define consumer preferences over the previous 12 months.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 17, 2015
Mags go big for Kobe gang's 100th
This year will see the observance of various centennials, including the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign in the Dardanelles; the Second Battle of Ypres; and the sinking of the RMS Lusitania with the loss of 1,198 lives.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 10, 2015
The Iris Fan
With "The Iris Fan," Laura Joh Rowland draws to a close her long-running saga of righteous Edo Period lawman Sano Ichiro. From "Shinju" (1994), the saga has partially overlapped with the reign of fifth shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi — a superstitious eccentric who ruled Japan from 1680.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 3, 2015
Getting a head start on wartime stories
From the "The Dirty Dozen" (1967) to "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), cinema audiences in Japan have flocked to theaters to watch Americans and Germans killing one another.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 20, 2014
Christmas in Japan is not for faint of heart
"Santa's not coming! You liar!!"
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.
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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