Age: 43
Nationality: British
Work Experience
April 2013 - present: Senior Press Officer, University of Leeds. Responsibilities include the Faculties of Engineering and Biological Sciences.
October 2012 - March 2013: Press Officer (Temporary contract), University of Leeds
August 2006-September 2012: English-language subeditor for the Asahi Shimbun, a major Japanese newspaper. I was recruited to edit the content contributed by the Asahi to the International Herald Tribune. Because the content was translated from Japanese, this involved rewriting and restructuring articles while trying to retain the original meaning. Later in the period, the Asahi broke with the IHT and established its own English-language service. I had begun working with the Asahi on a temporary contract, but became a permanent staff member during the launch of the Asahi's own service.
I published Drinking Japan, a book about Japanese alcohol culture with Tuttle Publishing in 2011 (for further details see www.drinkingjapan.com). The book was Tuttle's best-selling book in 2011 and won several awards. It was the top ranked English guidebook at the 2011 Gourmand Awards, the global food book prize.
April 2005 - August 2006: 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 a regular (3 to 4 shifts a week) freelance news reporter 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 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.