Age: 40
Nationality: British
Visa Status: Japanese spouse visa, allowing me to work in Japan.
Work Experience
Present: I currently work as a subeditor for a major Japanese newspaper. I published Drinking Japan, a book about Japanese alcohol culture, with Tuttle Publishing in 2011 (for further details see www.drinkingjapan.com). I am working on other book publishing projects.
April 2005 - August 2006: Studying on the Tokai University Japanese Language Course for Foreign Students.
September 2000 - April 2005: Freelance journalist based in London. During the later part of this period I was dividing my time between work as a reporter for the Independent, as a regular feature writer for the Times Higher Educational Supplement, and as the writer of the Times Educational Supplement's weekly diary column.
Earlier in this period, I also worked as an news reporter and deputy night news editor for The Times and did one-off feature and opinion articles for the Sunday Times, Times Educational Supplement Teacher magazine and the Daily Yomiuri, Japan. I contributed to two books, "Big Questions in Science" (Jonathan Cape, 2002) and "Big Questions in History" (Jonathan Cape, 2005).
April 2000 - September 2000: News editor of News International's "Learnfree" website, which aimed news, features and advice at parents. I increased readership of the news pages by 800 percent during a six-month tenure (the non-news sections of Learnfree doubled their readership in the same period). This success was due to a redesign of the news pages (which I initiated and directed) and to much wider dissemination because of the greatly improved quality of the site`s news output. Near the end of my tenure, News International was approached by Yahoo.co.uk to syndicate Learnfree`s parent-focused news, although I think this agreement was scuppered by the closure of Learnfree as the "dot com bubble" burst.
May 1999 - April 2000: News reporter for the Times Educational Supplement.
April 1999: Freelance journalist working for a range of publications including the Financial News, London and the Times Educational Supplement.
April 1998 - April 1999: Education correspondent, Halifax Evening Courier.
Sept 1996 - April 1998: Trainee reporter, Halifax Evening Courier.
Jan 1995 - Sept 1995: Researcher and scriptwriter, Hebden Lindsay video production company
Sept 1992 - Aug 1994: Assistant English Teacher, Hida Education Office, Gifu Prefecture, Japan
2005-6: Tokai University Japanese Language Course for Foreign Students (a one year intensive pre-entry course in Japanese language). In the first semester basic class, I received the following grades: speaking 91 per cent, reading 95 per cent, grammar 75 per cent, kanji 38 per cent, composition 84, listening 85 per cent. In the second semester intermediate course: speaking 91 per cent, reading/grammar 90 per cent, kanji 43 per cent, composition 86, listening 74 per cent.
2005: Japanese Language Proficiency Test, level 3 (an unaccredited but properly invigilated exam using level 3 papers at Tokai University. I have decided to include this because I am now concentrating on level 2 and will not be taking the level 3 accredited test.)
1998: National Council for the Training of Journalists National Certificate Examination.
1997: National Council for the Training of Journalists 100 words a minute shorthand.
1995-96: Postgraduate Diploma in Newspaper Journalism, City University, London.
1995: Japanese Language Proficiency Test, level 4.
1989-92: BA Politics, Philosophy and Economics (2.1), Merton College, Oxford University.
1985-89: Ilkley Grammar School, West Yorkshire: eight O-levels, three A-levels.
