Mark Buckton - The Japan Times

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Mark Buckton

Mark Buckton has covered sumo for The Japan Times Online since 2006 and has long worked with broadcast media such as the BBC and CNN when things go awry in the sport. He has contributed to six books on Japanese culture, and is a columnist at entertainment magazine Eye-Ai.

For Mark Buckton's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Jan 15, 2014

Tokyo: What's the strangest thing you've seen in a vending machine?

From melon to books, eggs and stewed morsels, interviewees around Tokyo share their most wonderfully weird vending machine encounters.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT

Jan 13, 2014

A hard day's grind for porn's professionals

A day on set with Akira Takatsuki, arguably Japan's most famous porn director in the subgenre revolving around well-endowed female talent, and AV stars Shiori Tsukada and Mumin reveals a world of work like any other — except for the sex stuff.

Japan Times

SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS

Jan 12, 2014

Hatsu 2014: Now or never for Kisenosato

When he first shot through the ranks in the mid 2000s, more than a few fans and commentators had Kisenosato penciled in as a future yokozuna.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Jan 8, 2014

Has Abenomics improved things for you or the country over the past year?

I can't really say that things have improved for the country as I don't often have the chance to follow politics. But, based on what I feel about my family, things have improved in the last year. I'm not sure if it's because of Abenomics, but some things have changed for the better.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Dec 18, 2013

Tokyo: If you could be prime minister for a day, what would you do?

Top concerns for would-be PMs around the metropolis: Fukushima, demographics, women in the workplace, the consumption tax, education, energy, English — and beer.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Dec 11, 2013

Tokyo: Where do you get your news fix from?

NHK, The Japan Times, 2channel, Nihon TV . . . Fox? Tokyoites look to a wide range of sources to sate their thirst for news.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Dec 2, 2013

Tokyo: What do you think of Japan's national broadcaster, NHK?

Beloved voice of the nation or loathed drain on household finances? Vox pops from around the capital suggest a bit of both.

SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS

Dec 2, 2013

Little-man sumo pays off for Harumafuji

It was without doubt one of the most disappointing yokozuna-yokozuna bouts in recent years.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Nov 20, 2013

Tokyo: Could — and should — mass immigration save shrinking Japan?

A path to a prosperous, innovative society or the multicultural road to ruin for Japan? Vote here to have your voice heard.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Nov 13, 2013

Tokyo: What does Japan do better than anywhere else?

Everyone here in Japan, or in Tokyo at least, is so disciplined and always punctual. The Japanese people I have met stick by their comments and the promises they make, and in my experience excuses are not accepted as much as they might be elsewhere.

SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS

Nov 8, 2013

Kyushu Basho 2013 – a tale of two newbies

In Japanese sporting circles, mention of the name Endo has, for the past few years, come with images of national soccer team and Gamba Osaka player Yasuhito Endo. All that is about to change.

SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS

Sep 30, 2013

While Hakuho chalks up another victory, Harumafuji's future grows less certain

And then there were 27 — little replicas of the Emperor's Cup atop the yokozuna's mantelpiece that is.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Sep 30, 2013

Tokyo: How do you feel about the capital hosting the 2020 Olympics?

Enthusiasm tinged with ambivalence greets the news that the city has been chosen to host the 2020 Summer Olympics — at least among this unscientific sample of Tokyoites.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Sep 23, 2013

Tokyo: What would you like to be reincarnated as?

Is it a bird? Is it a Pacific islander? Tokyoites tackle the big existential question: What do you want to be in your next life

Japan Times

SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS

Sep 14, 2013

As Baruto heads out and Kisenosato aims upward, Hiroshima is one to watch

In the runup to the Sept. 15u201329 Aki Basho sumo headlines have been dominated by the decision of former ozeki Baruto of Onoe Beya to call time on a nine year career peppered by injuries, and containing brief but highly memorable flashes of brilliance.

SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS

Sep 10, 2013

Is sumo’s lost decade finally coming to an end?

Many long-time sumo fans trace the origins of the decline of sumo in the modern era back to a decision made in January 2003 by Takanohana to call it quits and hang up his mawashi.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Sep 9, 2013

Tokyo: Have you ever had any trouble with immigration in Japan?

Tokyo residents share their stories about their dealings with Japan's Immigration Bureau on entry, exit and at visa-renewal time

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Sep 2, 2013

Tokyo: How would you describe Roppongi in one word?

'Roadworks.' When I was a lot younger I went there, and I don't have a great memory of that time because it was all roadworks, everywhere you look. And later, when a little older, when I went into bars I was just scared and don't remember much.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices

Aug 26, 2013

Tokyo: How much TV do you watch each week, and what do you watch?

Tomomi MizoguchiBar staff, 38 (Japanese)I watch around 20 hours of TV each week, which may be high, because I like to watch TV dramas such as "Kodoku no Gurume," broadcast on Wednesdays, which is about a salaryman looking for good restaurants to eat in. I like shows in which I see people eating a lot.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Aug 12, 2013

Tokyo: If today was your last day on Earth, what on Earth would you do?

I would do as I always do — no real changes for me. I would stay home or go to work, to sleep — same as always, except perhaps for one thing: I always take one hour to get home after finishing work, but if it was my last day on Earth, I would take two.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.

The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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