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May 17, 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.
For Mark Schreiber's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 5, 2018
News outlets quick to fall in love with prison break coverage
Did somebody say "prison break"? The thought took me back to the late 1970s, when I was waiting in the outbound immigration queue at Narita Airport, and found myself standing beside U.S. actor David Janssen (1931-80). From 1963, he'd starred in four seasons of the wildly popular ABC TV show "The Fugitive"...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 30, 2018
Using the internet to dig up some basics in Japanese
Once, many, many years ago, I found a rail pass someone left behind next to a public pay phone in Hamamatsucho Station in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 21, 2018
Sumo incident in Kyoto rekindles gender debate in the ring
In Japan's ancient Shinto religion, purity comes before morality. Indeed, purity is morality. Women are impure. They menstruate and bear children. The exclusion of women from certain religious and ceremonial functions went unquestioned for millennia. It no longer does — but it is not extinct either....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Apr 21, 2018
'Hiroshima Boy': Mas Arai takes a well-deserved bow in the saga's final mystery
Masao 'Mas' Arai, a humble gardener from Southern California, is a righteous dude. Carrying the ashes of his lifelong friend and fellow hibakusha (A-bomb survivor) Haruo Mukai, the 86-year-old Arai arrives for what he realizes will be his last visit to Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 7, 2018
Magazines indulge Japan's healthy obsession with staying spry
There has been a recent surge of articles in Japan's weekly magazines about diet, health and avoiding illnesses.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 2, 2018
A company freshman's sharp learning curve
The first Monday in April — April 2 this year — sees tens of thousands of 生き生きして元気な新入社員 (ikiiki shite genki na shinnyū shain, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed newly hired company employees) — also referred to as フレシュマン (fureshuman, freshmen) — decked out in...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 17, 2018
With amnesty or death, Japan seeks to draw a line under Heisei Era crimes
Those with the conviction that members of Japan's Imperial family have negligible impact on the lives of their subjects should bear in mind that for a tiny few, it can literally be a matter of life or death.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 3, 2018
Anniversaries loom for gum producer Lotte and the Yoshiwara red-light district
In 1941, a 19-year-old Korean chemistry student named Shin Kyuk-ho traveled to Tokyo to study at a technical college. He remained in Japan following the war and, under the name Takeo Shigemitsu, founded Lotte Co. in 1948. The brand's name was inspired by Charlotte, the heroine of Johann Wolfgang von...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 26, 2018
To have and to hold, to slap and to tickle: For tactile versatility, you have to hand it to this kanji
One way to acquire more kanji is to organize them into a relational database. To show how this works, let's look at some of the many characters using the hand radical.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 17, 2018
The face of immigration is rapidly changing in Japan
Over the past half decade, major changes have taken place in the demographics of foreign residents in Japan. Weekly Playboy's Dec. 18 issue devoted a four-page article to "Research into Vietnamese." Why Vietnamese? And why now?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 3, 2018
Has Christel Takigawa cursed Japan with her 2020 Olympics omotenashi pitch?
"One thing made clear from (our) survey is that the wholehearted looking after guests is not necessarily appreciated."
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 22, 2018
Learning Japanese from TV samurai tales of the wild East
Portraying legendary heroes in colorful costumes of yore, jidaigeki (period dramas) date back to the earliest years of silent films, and the genre has been frequently compared with America's TV Westerns.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 20, 2018
The knives begin to sharpen for Hakuho after sumo scandal
At the start of last November’s Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament, Shukan Taishu magazine (Nov. 20) led off its issue with a four-page article titled “What you need to know to enjoy the year’s final tournament tenfold.”
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 6, 2018
2018: Year of the 800-pound Gorilla
Four topics dominated Japan's non-Twitter news cycle for the last quarter of 2017. Two involved sports: the signing of 23-year-old baseball superstar Shohei Otani to play for the Los Angeles Angels of the American League; and the resignation of sumo grand champion Harumafuji after assaulting a younger...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 18, 2017
Hit products of 2017 home in on uchi
Nikkei Marketing Journal ranks the hit products for 2017, with Amazon and Rakuten sitting pretty among the grand champions.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 16, 2017
Showa's not giving up without a fight
The government has decided that the 31st year of Heisei will end with the abdication of Emperor Akihito 120 days into 2019, on April 30. Then on May 1, Crown Prince Naruhito will become emperor and a new nengō (name of the period of reign) will be announced.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 2, 2017
Pachinko parlors are losing their balls while Japan considers a cashless economy
With the Diet's passing of a law last December that will legalize casino gambling, many are wondering how this development will affect the few forms of tightly controlled gambling and gaming that have been permitted up to now — like pachinko (a type of pinball machine).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 2, 2017
Eli K. P. William's dystopian 'The Naked World' is not a tale for technophobes
It's been a banner year for science-fiction films. In October, cinema fans flocked to see Harrison Ford in "Blade Runner 2049." And "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," featuring Mark Hamill and the late Carrie Fisher, premiers in the U.S. on Dec. 15.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 27, 2017
Nihongo on the go: Words to know in 2018
Learn some of the latest youth slangs in Japanese, including the 'tooth cavity pose.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 18, 2017
Zama murders prompt awareness of youth issues
Readers who may be contemplating homicide should be aware that concealing evidence of your crime — referred to in the language of jurisprudence as corpus delicti — is next to impossible.
Japanese stripper bids to have her porn movies taken off internet
Plaintiff Miyuki Ariga (left) speaks at a news conference along with her lawyer, Yoshitomo Morohashi, after filing a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday.
Kishida defends planned rule to revoke foreigners' residency
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a meeting of the Lower House Judicial Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
Human bone-like objects found at Nippon Steel plant’s molten iron pot, with one worker missing
Police believe it’s highly possible that human bones found in a molten iron pot at Nippon Steel's Oita factory belong to a missing male employee.
Was Onosato's defeat of Terunofuji an era-defining bout?
Onosato (right) defeats Terunofuji at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 12. While nothing in sumo is guaranteed, it seems almost inevitable that Onosato is destined for the top of the sport's pyramid.
Man suspected of using smart glasses to cheat on Waseda University exams
The Waseda University campus in Tokyo. An 18-year-old male test-taker is suspected of using smart glasses to cheat during the university's entrance exam.
Japanese rap creates its mecca in Pop Yours
Tokyo-based artist Jumadiba says he forgoes the label of simply “rap” for his music because the Japanese rap scene isn’t confined to a particular sound.
Who’s toughest on China? Biden’s tariff tactic ups ante as election looms.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about new actions to protect American workers and businesses from China's "unfair" trade practices, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
Was Onosato's defeat of Terunofuji an era-defining bout?
Onosato (right) defeats Terunofuji at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 12. While nothing in sumo is guaranteed, it seems almost inevitable that Onosato is destined for the top of the sport's pyramid.
Ishin struggles to set itself apart from other parties
Nippon Ishin no Kai Secretary-General Fumitake Fujita (right) speaks beside Yui Kanazawa, the party's candidate in the Tokyo 15th district by-election on April 28. Nippon Ishin lost in this by-election as well as another in Nagasaki held on the same day.
In Japan, 68,000 people over 65 projected to die alone at home this year
As Japan grapples with its population's rapid aging, supporting people who live and age alone is looming larger on the policy agenda.

Podcast

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

Longform

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan
By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there
Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

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