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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
Mar 10, 2013
No clearing the air over neighbor's pollution
Pollutants from China and their resultant problems are nothing new to Japan. Acid rain, principally caused by high levels of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide in industrial pollutants, has been a concern for several decades.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 24, 2013
Overseas voyages by retirees include more than a few shipwrecks
In 1986, shortly before the beginning of Japan's "bubble economy," a department in the former Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) announced a plan named Silver Columbia 92.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 18, 2013
Can-can dancers, tea-time snacks and katakana confusion
In last month's column, I looked at the origins of several famous Japanese product brands. Thinking back, perhaps the very first brand I noticed here was a confectioner named 文明堂 (Bunmeido). The company, a 老舗 (shinise, well-established shop), was founded in Nagasaki in 1900, taking its name...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 10, 2013
Lots of blame, but few solutions to terrorist attacks abroad
On Jan. 16, Islamic militants believed led by the elusive commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar struck a natural-gas processing plant in Ain Amenas, Algeria. In the rescue attempt by units of Algeria's army, as many as 81 people may have died, among which were 10 Japanese employees of JGC Corporation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 28, 2013
What's in a Japanese name? More than you might expect
Last year I went to Yumenoshima Park in Tokyo's Koto Ward to see a museum housing the 第五福竜丸 (Dai-go Fukuryu Maru, aka No. 5 Lucky Dragon), the ill-fated fishing boat that inadvertently sailed too close to a 水爆実験 (suibaku jikken, thermonuclear test) at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 26, 2013
Paying a record tuna price is simply good advertising
“Even considering that Ooma tuna is a prestige brand, its tuna might normally sell for about u00a54,000 to u00a55,000 per kilogram,” a seafood trader tells Nikkan Gendai (Jan. 8).
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 14, 2013
Hit product lists laud the year's marketing successes
Toward the end of every year, Japan's print media and many business organizations look back on "hit products" whose successes helped define consumer spending over the previous 12 months.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 13, 2013
Magazines struggle to maintain relevance
The print edition of venerable U.S. weekly news magazine Newsweek is no more. From the Jan. 4 issue it relaunched as a digital-only publication.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / THE YEAR IN BOOKS
Dec 23, 2012
Alternative histories about JFK
The 50th anniversary of the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy next November is expected to see a flood of new works on that topic. Two alternative history novels have already appeared on this theme. In Stephen King's "11/22/63: A Novel" (Scribner), Maine high school teacher Jake Epping...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 17, 2012
Buzzwords show the changing face of Japanese in 2012
While hamming it up before the TV cameras on a diving board last September, entertainer "Sugi-chan" (real name: Eiji Sugiyama) suffered a fractured thoracic vertebrae.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 16, 2012
Japan loses its cool as South Korea heats up
Last month, a nationwide survey of 3,000 people by the Cabinet office found that the percentage of Japanese who do not view South Korea on friendly terms rose to 59 percent, up by 23.7 points from 2011. The sharply negative shift appeared to reverse over a decade of warming relations between the two...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 9, 2012
New breed of 'criminal elements' emerging from the shadows
Don't look now, but some new bad guys have come to town. Referred to as han-gure, they've actually been around for a while already, flying under the radar of the mainstream media.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 9, 2012
Serious business of murder turned into entertainment
THE INCENSE GAME, by Laura Joh Rowland. Minotaur Books, 2012, 290 pp., $25.99 (hardcover) ONE RED BASTARD, by Ed Lin. Minotaur Books, 2012, 280 pp., $25.99 (hardcover) Since publication of her first mystery, "Shinju," 18 years ago, Laura Joh Rowland has churned out about one book a year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 26, 2012
Notable negatives, funny titles and other linguistic oddities
When I was a wee lad of 4 or 5, I would sneak up on a chair and explore my grandfather's desk, atop of which was situated a curious object: a paperweight featuring the famous three wise monkeys of Nikko. At its base was inscribed the warning: Don't monkey with anything on this desk.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 25, 2012
The convoluted crime spree of Amagasaki's 'piranha family'
By next week, the media will start compiling lists of the top news stories of 2012. The short list can be expected to include natural and manmade disasters, political bombshells, international disputes, indiscretions by celebrities in the worlds of sports and entertainment and, of course, sensational...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 18, 2012
Yoshiwara busts send message: 'Keep it clean'
On May 24, 1956, the Diet voted Japan's anti-prostitution statute into law, effective from April 1, 1957; but enforcement was postponed a year to give sex workers time to seek new livelihoods.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 4, 2012
It's a bad time for Sapio to downsize
Japan's first two shūkanshi (weekly magazines) appeared so closely, their arrival could be described as analogous to a "photo start" as opposed to a photo finish. The Asahi Shimbun launched Junkan Asahi on Feb. 25, 1922. Rather than appearing weekly, however, it was issued on the 5th, 15th and 25th...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 29, 2012
Halloween in Japan: no trick or treat, but scary spots galore
Japanese people generally have a well developed appreciation for the supernatural, and while the American practice of ringing doorbells in the neighborhood to demand "trick or treat" has yet to take root, Halloween-related events continue to grow in popularity.
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 21, 2012
In search of the fearsome Onibaba
"Here's as close as I can take you," said my taxi driver, a charming fellow named Ishii whose pronounced zuzu-ben (Tohoku accent), was strong enough to cut with the proverbial knife.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 21, 2012
Watching the wealthy, a popular spectator sport
Twenty-five years ago, in what was to became known as the bubble economy, many Japanese suddenly found themselves awash in money.
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.
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.
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.

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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Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals
Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals

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