National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Aug 5, 2017
Speed bump won't stop Kiyomiya, Japanese baseball's teen powerhouse
by Mark Schreiber
So far, 2017 has been a banner year for sports prodigies in Japan, from table tennis and shogi to baseball.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Apr 22, 2017
Could Japan become a future cultural melting pot?
by Michael Hoffman
Why not welcome 10 million immigrants to Japan by 2050? That's Hidenori Sakanaka's pitch, but it's a hard sell.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Mar 25, 2017
Radiation brings fear, and kids let it all out
by Michael Hoffman
Children too young, one might think, to even know the word "radiation" have picked it up and flung it with gleeful malice at disoriented new classmates who have enough to cope with already.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Mar 18, 2017
The Japan tabloid guide to health and happiness
by Mark Schreiber
An alien first encountering Japan's weekly tabloid magazines might conclude he has come to Earth in a nation of inquisitive hypochondriacs.
Language | BILINGUAL Dec 19, 2016
Japanese buzzwords capture the zeitgeist of then, now and what's to come
by Mark Schreiber
Take a journey through the buzzwords of years past and present — and hazard a guess at what's coming in 2017.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Aug 27, 2016
Japan's super-rich: fun to envy, difficult to emulate
by Mark Schreiber
Japanese multimillionaires are the object of intense study by members of the country's middle class, especially those who entertain probably unrealistic hopes of emulating them.
Issues | LABOR PAINS Mar 27, 2016
Bearded train driver, out-of-pocket teacher and CV faker: How would they fare in court?
by Hifumi Okunuki
A look at three shiny new news items from the gossip columns that take on a different sheen when examined under the piercing light of labor law.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Jan 9, 2016
Publisher Takarajima-sha bets on shock therapy to revive its fortunes
by Mark Schreiber
With the temporary demise of its flagship publication, Takarajima looks to Showa nostalgia and shock ads in a bid to stay relevant.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Dec 19, 2015
Gangs, girl power and getting old: Japan's magazines ring out 2015
by Mark Schreiber
A roundup of the final weekly magazines of 2015 finds many preoccupied with the split within the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza group.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Jan 26, 2015
Japan's media grapple with free speech, faith and immigration after Charlie Hebdo attack
by Mark Schreiber
What does the Japanese media have to say about the recent events in France? The weeklies have got something for everyone.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Mar 22, 2014
Motley crew of foreigners backing Japan's revisionists basks in media glare
by Mark Schreiber
In the war of words — particularly with South Korea and China — over World War II-era issues that has intensified over the past 18 months, foreigners — both Westerners and Asians — have also waded into the fray.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Mar 8, 2014
Rabid right foams at the mouth over Line's Korean connection
by Mark Schreiber
Internet entrepreneurism has spawned all kinds of free services and applications. Some — with names such as Yahoo, Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter — have emerged as wild successes and earned sizable fortunes for their founders. But while cyberspace was intended to be borderless, closer ...