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December 07, 2023
 

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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.
For Mark Schreiber's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2022
Dissecting Japan's hit consumer products of 2022
The two items that topped Nikkei Marketing Journal's annual rankings were not products per se but product attributes reflecting consumers' response to inflation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 14, 2022
A look at the kanji that helps us turn nouns into adjectives
The kanji for "teki" can be seen in many words, and it's a rather versatile one that works particularly well as a suffix.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 18, 2021
2021's hit products tap into Japanese consumer needs as pandemic drags on
Hit products of any given year are expected to change the direction of the market, carve out a completely new market segment or appeal to changing lifestyles with something innovative.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 27, 2021
Can artificial intelligence be harnessed to protect the public from random assailants?
Facial recognition technology can be used to identify known criminals from a database as well as home in on a person acting suspiciously.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 13, 2021
October quake gives Tokyo a wake-up call
Residents of the metropolis are urged to make sure theyu2019re fully prepared for when the dreaded u201cbig oneu201d strikes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 23, 2021
‘Two-sword’ baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani shines as Japan’s newest icon. But is he underpaid?
Shohei Ohtaniu2019s performance this year has baseball fans excited and the tabloids brimming with new angles on the reasons for his success.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 9, 2021
Kishida has no time to lose as stories from the faltering middle class hit the stands
Japanese magazines are filled with stories of economic hardship as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida takes the reins of the country.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 25, 2021
The trial of a yakuza boss ends with a death sentence … and a threat
An ominous warning from a crime boss as he is sentenced gets the Japanese tabloids in a real stir.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 11, 2021
Believe it or not, ‘expensive’ Japan is actually underpriced
Tokyou2019s reputation as an expensive city was debunked by Diamondu2019s comparisons of prices for various consumer items in different cities around the world.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 28, 2021
All the foreign media praise aside, Japan's convenience stores are fighting a slump
While journalists trapped in an Olympic bubble wrote a lot about how Japanese convenience stores came to their aid, the companies that run the stores have taken a hit in earnings.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 14, 2021
Olympian tattoos fail to leave their mark on the Japanese press
After Tokyo was awarded the Olympics in 2013, many thought tattoos would be a major issue during the Games. In the end, they barely scratched the surface of public attention.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 30, 2021
Gold, silver and bronze aren't just words for the Olympics
With all the talk about gold, silver and bronze medals, take a look at some metal-related vocabulary that you can use even when the Games are done.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 24, 2021
Earthquakes, typhoons … and now we have to worry about heat domes?
High temperatures in Japan have reached more than 41 degrees Celsius in the past, but a heat dome in Canada has the media speculating on whether higher temperatures are ahead.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 10, 2021
Japanese vending machines: the cutting edge of merchandising … and on the brink of irrelevance?
Media reports focusing on Japan's quirky vending machine culture dive into what new items are on offer and the risk they face due to competition from convenience stores.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 26, 2021
Road signs that point to a 'post-corona' Japan
What does Japan look like after the COVID-19 pandemic? An economic recovery? A downturn for all-night industries? The tabloids are getting into predictions.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 12, 2021
Magazines shed some light on the successes and failures of the vaccination rollout in Japan
With the rollout in vaccinations for those age 65 and over finally underway, magazines in Japan have taken up the topic from a variety of perspectives.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 22, 2021
Some food for thought amid the COVID-19 pandemic
New research warns that produce once billed as healthy can wreak havoc on the body.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 8, 2021
Them's fightin' words: How militaristic vocabulary works its way into Olympics coverage
Militaristic language has made its way into headlines about the Olympics, but that may say more about Japan's news media than the actual situation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 2, 2021
‘Tokyo Junkie’: Robert Whiting recounts a lifelong addiction to his adopted city
The author and longtime Japan resident tackles his hardest writing project ever u2014 u201cinterviewing himselfu201d for a memoir on his life, the changing urban landscape and, of course, baseball.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 24, 2021
In COVID-19's wake, Japan faces a bleaker future
A "baby shock" now threatens Japan, according to one journalist. Meanwhile, older residents could be shipped off to China?
Starbucks heads for record losing streak as sales concerns mount
Starbucks' stock has fallen for the past two weeks amid concern about "still-slow China data” and sales trends, according to one analyst.
Police arrest Japan taxi driver after running over pigeon
Tokyo police had a veterinarian perform a postmortem on the hapless pigeon and determined its cause of death as traumatic shock.
Popularity of gender-neutral Japanese names rose in 2023
Gender-neutral names were more popular for Japanese babies born in 2023, a survey has found.
The China-Russia-North Korea triangle looks unlikely to last
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's far eastern Amur region on Sept. 13.
Unusual names can complicate life in Japan. Now parents are being reined in.
Yuuki Matsumoto, formerly Yuni, at his residence in Yokohama on Aug. 24. Japanese children with unconventional names can face societal and practical challenges unique to their country and its written language. Matsumoto, 24, was bullied over his name to the extent he dropped out of school, and had it legally changed this year.
Japanese students climb to third in OECD ranking of reading ability
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's learning assessment test showed that Japanese high school students ranked third in their ability to use reading skills to solve real-life problems, second in science and fifth in mathematics in 2022.
The wild card in Taiwan’s election: Frustrated young voters
Pedestrians cross a street in the Zhongshan district of Taipei. Many voters on the island, especially those in their 20s and 30s, say they are weary of geopolitics and yearn for a campaign more focused on their needs at home.
U.S. to deploy powerful new missile launcher to Indo-Pacific in '24
The U.S. Army's prototype Mid-Range Capability system, known as the “Typhon” Strategic Mid-Range Fires system, is seen in this image released in July following its successful launch of a Tomahawk missile.
Tokyo’s new venture capital hub aims to boost ties among investors
A coworking space at Tokyo Venture Capital Hub
Prominent Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow flees to Canada
Pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow is released in June 2021, after serving nearly seven months in prison for her role in Hong Kong's 2019 anti-government protests.

Podcast

Pages from a new Otaku Dictionary catalog the lexicons of Japan’s various subcultures.
A problematic otaku dictionary and the Japanese approach to sitting

Longform

Tokyo Healthcare University professor Takayuki Mifune explains how he is trying to re-create bonito broth from 1,300 years ago.
The quest to re-create what the Japanese ate 1,300 years ago
By Alex K.T. Martin

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