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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
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 19, 2014
Marketers succeed by generating hitto products
Japanese consumers and marketers alike certainly love their ヒット商品 (hitto shōhin, hit products). To understand how this term came about, we need to look back to the decade following World War II. When living standards gradually began to improve from the early 1950s, Japanese consumers eagerly...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 18, 2014
After Aum, post-9/11 lull, weeklies rediscover faith
March 20 will mark the 19th anniversary of the toxic nerve-gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by members of the Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth) doomsday cult. That attack, which shook Japanese society to its very foundations, resulted in 13 deaths and thousands of injuries. Thirteen high-ranking Aum...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 4, 2014
Cash, sex, the mob? Weeklies seek clues in gyōza king's killing
Just when it was starting to look like 2013 would end with minimal gun violence in Japan, two socially prominent individuals were shot dead in the space of two days.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 4, 2014
Imagining Edo Period intrigue from the U.S.
At the climax of "Shinju"(1994), Laura Joh Rowland's first mystery novel, gallant yoriki (police sergeant) Sano Ichiro rescues the shogun from an assassination plot and earns himself a big promotion. It's a pyrrhic victory leading to what Sano immediately realizes will be a thankless position that risks...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 22, 2013
This year's buzzwords show how Japanese is evolving
Last month I shelled out ¥2,980 for my 2014 edition of 現代用語の基礎知識 ("Gendai Yogo no Kiso Chishiki", "Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words"). It's a 1,660-page monster that's well worth the outlay, and this year publisher Jiyu Kokumin-sha, as an extra bonus, included a 74-page booklet that...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 21, 2013
The envelope, please (and don't lick it)
One of the most sensational news stories emanating from Japan over the past year never actually happened.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Dec 7, 2013
Impending Japan-China war has the makings of a Clancy classic
On Nov. 23, China announced the creation of a newly expanded air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, overlapping a large expanse of territory also claimed by Japan. The move has produced a visceral reaction in the Japanese vernacular media, particularly the weekly tabloids. Five...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 24, 2013
TV sports broadcasts as a language-learning tool
Another exciting grand sumo tournament ended yesterday, and brought back memories of my first encounter with sumo, in Okinawa back in September 1965.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 23, 2013
'Black' firms exploit staff, 'black' state taxes them
Burakku kigyu014d' refers to companies where management has no desire to reward workers, and where labor laws are intentionally violated. Wages tend to be low, working hours long — with unpaid overtime — and employees are often subjected to 'power harassment' at the hands of their supervisors.
Japan Times
LIFE
Nov 16, 2013
The day JFK died: Fifty years on, the assassination still haunts Americans
The murder of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 22, 1963, forever changed America. I was 16 years old when it happened, and still haven't fully come to terms with it. The indelible sense of loss and still-unanswered questions — How it could have been allowed to happen? Who was...
LIFE
Nov 16, 2013
Fifty years later, conspiracy theories live on
"Any concerted plan that placed Lee Harvey Oswald in the gunner's seat," wrote Norman Mailer in "Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery," "would have had to have been built on the calculation that he would miss." Yet Mailer, whose research took him back to the city of Minsk, where Oswald had lived under...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 9, 2013
Learning to revel in the odd with the Ig Nobel
"I noticed there was a suspicious-looking email in my in box with the subject 'Ig Nobel' and 'Congratulations.' At first I thought it was some kind of spam. I was going to disregard it, but then I recalled the famous Ig Nobel awards," relates Dr. Masanori Niimi of Teikyo University in Shukan Shincho...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 27, 2013
Taking count of the sufficiency of Japanese suffixes
One of the first things new learners of Japanese must struggle with is the amazing variety of classifiers for numbers. When counting books, for instance, the number is followed by 冊 (satsu, volumes, as in issatsu, nisatsu etc.); for thin, elongated objects such as pencils it's 本 (hon, as in ippon,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 26, 2013
Japan Inc.'s hurt pride may be behind bout of fresh phone fears
What's the explanation for the current surge in concern over the poor manners and inattention of addicted cellphone users — especially considering smart phones are arguably no more distracting than the previous generation of mobile gadgets
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 20, 2013
You may find mei mystifying
It's almost Halloween again, so before I set out my カボチャ提灯 (kabocha chōchin, jack-o'-lantern), I thought the time is right to take up the topic of 迷信 (meishin, superstition). The first character is 迷, meaning lost or puzzled, made by combining the phonetic 米 (alternatively read...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 12, 2013
Tabloids brimming with anti-Korea diatribes
For 11 consecutive days from the start of this month, every front page of the Yukan Fuji, a nationally circulated evening tabloid published by the Sankei Shimbun, was embellished with at least one negative reference to South Korea. Some headline excerpts:
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 22, 2013
A Japanese word-processing primer for beginners
Even a u5165u9580u8005 (nyu016bmonsha, entry-level learner) of Japanese can use a personal computer to his or her advantage, as a supplementary learning tool.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 21, 2013
Presenting the up, down and dark sides of 'Gorinnomics'
The weekly magazines' and tabloids' reaction to the selection of Tokyo to host the 2020 Olympics reminds one of an oft-quoted remark by Oscar Wilde that goes, "In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 21, 2013
Amateur sleuths pursue callous California killers
In "You Only Live Twice" (1964), the 12th in Ian Fleming's series of James Bond novels, a perplexed Tiger Tanaka, MI5's Japanese secret police liaison, informs 007 he was unaware that ninjas still existed.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 7, 2013
What's the real story behind 'Emperor'?
...
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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