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Master Blaster
Writer / Translator
Master Blaster is the two-man translating team of Canada’s Steven Le Blanc and Japan’s Masami M, a pair who in addition to writing work are in English education and created the StudyNow app for Japanese students of English.
Together they have written somewhere around 1,500 articles for RocketNews24 covering such diverse topics as Chinese men selling sanitary napkins to each other and a Japanese guy dragging an ear of corn around the Tokyo train system. A few of these were actually good, but don’t take our word for it! Here’s what our beloved readers had to say:
“One isn't always in the mood for bold tastes. But when I'm in the mood for bold flavor I turn to you.”
“Stupid article. Who cares what the Japanese think it's cool. You don't call a monkey, "gorilla".”
“You know, this is about the most cogent explanation of how a turbocharger works that I have ever seen in the non-motorsports world.”
“Thanks for the article peter!”
“It's people like you who make exploitation possible.”
“It looks yummy and the story was great. Thank you for the smile.”
Posted by Master Blaster
Okinawa man convinced he won 700 million yen by scammers, saved by convenience store staff
- Master Blaster
4 days ago - Tweet
To serve and protect.
- Japan
- (convenience stores • crime • fraud • Lawson • Okinawa • prepaid cards • special fraud • tokushu sagi • Tomigusuku)
Go to hell! …at a limited time historical art exhibit coming to Osaka
- Master Blaster
5 days ago
It’ll be a hell of a good time.
- Japan
- (art • Buddhism • COK • culture • Descent into Hell • events • exhibitions • hell • jigoku • museums • mythology • Osaka • religion • shinto • Yomi)
Movie about Shinzo Abe assassination reportedly in the works
- Master Blaster
Sep 4, 2026
Too soon?
- Japan
- (assassination • crime • Masaki Suda • movies • Shinzo Abe • Unification Church)
Elderly couple donates 400 million yen to erect Myaku-Myaku statue in Osaka
- Master Blaster
Sep 3, 2026
Multi-million-dollar Myaku-Myaku donation.
- Japan
- (2025 Osaka World Expo • donation • Mascots • money • Myaku-Myaku • Osaka • statues • tower of the sun)
One Piece Day 2026 brings new art, music, and new cast announcements
- Master Blaster
Aug 31, 2026
Two days, One Piece.
- Japan
- (anime • events • manga • Mayumi Tanaka • One Piece • One Piece Day)
Turn octopus, spaghetti, and more of your favorite foods into crackers with Senbei Maker 2
- Master Blaster
Aug 25, 2026
You haven’t truly eaten a food until you’ve made it into a cracker.
- Japan
- (appliances • cooking • crackers • food • senbei • Senbei Maker 2 • Thanko)
Time-lapse footage shows just how fast rebuilding in Kumamoto can go
- Master Blaster
Aug 17, 2026
All in a day’s work.
- Japan
- (2026 Kumamoto earthquake • Construction • disasters • earthquakes • highways • Kumamoto • Kyushu • moving • NEXCO • recovery • touching)
Police ask Kumamoto residents to not get blackout drunk as much during earthquake relief efforts
- Master Blaster
Aug 11, 2026
Hard times and hard drinking don’t mix.
- Japan
- (2026 Kumamoto earthquake • alcohol • drinking • earthquake • Kumamoto • Kyushu • Natural disasters • police)
One Piece Day returns to Tokyo Big Sight and worldwide on Youtube 22 and 23 August
- Master Blaster
Aug 10, 2026
A day so nice they made it twice.
- Japan
- (anime • events • manga • One Piece • One Piece Day • Tokyo Big Sight • trading card games • video games)
Over 400 titles of free translated manga from publisher Shueisha available for a limited time
- Master Blaster
Aug 6, 2026
It’s their birthday, but we’re getting the presents!
- Global, Internet, Japan
- (anniversaries • free • Hideaki Hayashi • manga • Manga Million • Shueisha • translation)
Japan’s Super Volunteer, 86-year-old Haruo Obata, heads to the Kumamoto earthquake site
- Master Blaster
Aug 3, 2026
Your friendly neighborhood Super Volunteer.
- Japan
- (disasters • earthquake • Haruo Obata • Kumamoto • kumamoto earthquake • Kumamoto earthquake 2026 • society • Super Volunteer • volunteering)
Koei Tecmo continues to be an investment firm that also happens to make video games
- Master Blaster
Aug 1, 2026
I’ve yet to see Berkshire Hathaway’s psychological horror game.
- Japan
- (business • investment • Keiko Erikawa • Koei • Koei Tecmo • video games)
Okayama man arrested for catching butterflies in central Japan
- Master Blaster
Jul 31, 2026
It’s becoming a regular Gotham City out there.
- Japan
- (butterflies • crime • endangered species • Gifu • insects • Kita Alps • Kohyomon Modoki • Mellicta ambigua niphona • Norikura Kogen • Okayama)
Japanese government okays plan to create a backup capital city
- Master Blaster
Jul 27, 2026
Always good to have a spare lying around.
- Japan
- (Aichi • capital city • fukushoto • Japan Innovation Party • Nagoya • Nippon Ishin no Kai • Osaka • politics • Tokyo • vice-capital)
61-year-old Kyoto man arrested for playing guitar and radio too loudly for seven years
- Master Blaster
Jul 27, 2026
Those darn sexagenarians with their loud rock music.
Yakuza members arrested for building a road on mountain they don’t own
- Master Blaster
Jul 22, 2026
Darn gangsters! Building infrastructure without permission.
- Japan
- (Construction • Hiroshima • Kyosei-kai • Organized crime • roads • yakuza)
“Stab-kill for two deaths” and other fun Japanese baseball terms
- Master Blaster
Jul 19, 2026
And it’s one, two, three strikes you’re dead at the old ball game!
- Japan
- (baseball • Chuman Kanae • history • jargon • language • Masaoka Shiki • sports)
Mass murder plot stopped by friend of Akihabara mass murderer
- Master Blaster
Jul 17, 2026
A friend to the friendless.
- Japan
- (Akihabara Massacre • crime • murder • Shuitsu Otomo • Tokyo • Tomohiro Kato • Toyama)
Shizuoka police inspector punished for playing crane games on duty
- Master Blaster
Jul 14, 2026
To serve and get plush toys.
- Japan
- (crane games • crazy • crime • fraud • police • UFO catchers • weird)
3-second salt company jingle becomes #1 karaoke song in Japan across all genres
- Master Blaster
Jul 11, 2026
Everyone’s feeling a little salty this summer.
- Japan
- (Hakata no Shio • Hakata Salt • Joysound • karaoke • music • ranking • sound logos)
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Recent Posts
- New Gundam megastore announced for one of Tokyo’s most popular tourist neighborhoods
- TeamLab is building a new Tokyo museum, and it’s the digital art group’s biggest ever
- Studio Ghibli releases new onigiri rice ball-shaped lunch bag for Kiki’s Delivery Service fans
- Don Quijote ear cleaner sucks, and was criticised by customers, but is the new version any better?
- Japanese mayors challenge each other to nighttime ninja battle, now recruiting participants
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MOST POPULAR
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Today
Studio Ghibli releases new onigiri rice ball-shaped lunch bag for Kiki’s Delivery Service fans
Two American women attempt to smuggle US$1 million worth of cannabis into Tokyo for a free trip to Japan
TeamLab is building a new Tokyo museum, and it’s the digital art group’s biggest ever
How to watch Studio Ghibli’s new anime in Japan, with a special after-dark outdoor screening for Halloween
New Shinkansen platform vending machine sells local-flavor treats from 127-year-old snack maker
Ghibli’s Toshio Suzuki not impressed by generative AI images, Hayao Miyazaki thinks even less of them
Japanese mayors challenge each other to nighttime ninja battle, now recruiting participants
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Roaming rubbish bin robot at Shinjuku Station solves the problem of where to put your trash
Don Quijote ear cleaner sucks, and was criticised by customers, but is the new version any better?
Weekly
- Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Japan’s Suica Penguin character is “graduating”, and you can choose its successor- How to watch Studio Ghibli’s new anime in Japan, with a special after-dark outdoor screening for Halloween
Tokyo ward looking to change lodging laws, ban more than half of its Airbnb-style rentals- Two American women attempt to smuggle US$1 million worth of cannabis into Tokyo for a free trip to Japan
- New Shinkansen platform vending machine sells local-flavor treats from 127-year-old snack maker
Megadeth guitarist becomes voice of reason regarding tourists dancing at shrine in Japan
Kyoto temple bans visitors from wearing kimono
Mister Donut releases new sweet potato doughnuts in Japan, and we’ve ranked them from best to worst
New Transforming Business Card case brings anime mecha to Japanese work meetings
Monthly
12-year-old British girl who went missing in Tokyo found safe after visiting anime sites around Yokohama
7-year-old boy left behind on Mt. Fuji by his own dad
Japan’s final Penguin Suica train cards have already shipped, and when they’re gone, they’re gone
Sushi Bus: Japan’s first conveyor-belt bus lets you eat sushi while sightseeing around Tokyo
Studio Ghibli unveils new anime calendars and diary planners for 2027
Study finds hundreds of people in Indonesia legally named after Naruto, Inuyasha, other anime stars
Japan approves foreign resident visa renewal fee increases of up to 967 percent, starts soon
Japan tripled its departure tax to fund tourism but is using the money on cherry blossoms and bears
Solo travel in Japan: Hidden beer garden in Tokyo is a haven for single visitors- Kyoto temple bans visitors from wearing kimono
Yearly
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
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RECOMMENDED STORIES
Ghibli’s Toshio Suzuki not impressed by generative AI images, Hayao Miyazaki thinks even less of them
Japanese mayors challenge each other to nighttime ninja battle, now recruiting participants
Family Mart releases 47 convenience store socks and stickers, one for every prefecture in Japan
Roaming rubbish bin robot at Shinjuku Station solves the problem of where to put your trash
Don Quijote ear cleaner sucks, and was criticised by customers, but is the new version any better?
Tokyo’s Shibuya puts up new posters asking visitors to use recycle boxes properly
Megadeth guitarist becomes voice of reason regarding tourists dancing at shrine in Japan
Japan’s Suica Penguin character is “graduating”, and you can choose its successor
Eel sauce is our new favorite cooking hack for making any dish sweet and savory with zero hassle
New Gundam megastore announced for one of Tokyo’s most popular tourist neighborhoods
Converse Japan releases green tea cup sneakers so you can wear your love for sushi on your feet
Real-world Zelda Master Sword on the way from American toymaker, plays game music and sounds
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s remake can be played with an actual ocarina [Video]
Japanese restaurant chain offering free food for a year if you beat massive meat bowl challenge
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