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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.”

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Posted by Master Blaster (Page 5)

Huge display of drones and fireworks together coming to Osaka this June

• Master Blaster
  May 13, 2026
• Tweet

You got your drones in my fireworks! You got your fireworks in my drones!

Read More

• Japan
• (drones • events • Fire Brand • fireworks • Inakako Fireworks • Kato Fireworks • Katsuragi Fireworks • Maishima Sports Island • Osaka • Osaka Bay Skylumina • Red Cliff • shows)

Japanese hair salons going bankrupt in record numbers

• Master Blaster
  May 5, 2026

Salons are dying in more ways than one.

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• Japan
• (bankruptcy • business • economy • hair salons • inflation • labor shortage • oil crisis)

Shinto shrine will bless your bike helmet and give you a sacred bike helmet stamp

• Master Blaster
  May 2, 2026

Pray to get ahead or to keep your head.

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• Japan
• (bicycle helmets • bicycles • bicycling • COK • culture • cycling • Mie Prefecture • religion • safety • shinto • shrines)

War in Iran threatening Japan’s pudding production

• Master Blaster
  Apr 30, 2026

If you don’t end the war, you can’t have any pudding! How can you have any pudding if you don’t end the war?!

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• Japan
• (business • COK • food • Iran • naptha • oil crisis • plastic • pudding • purin • USA • war)

This Mother’s Day, why not give the gift of a single, really expensive, never-picked mango?

• Master Blaster
  Apr 28, 2026

Get your mother the mother of all mangoes.

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• Japan
• (crazy • expensive food • food • fruit • fruits • gifts • mangoes • Miyazaki Ripe Mango • Mother's Day)

Japanese film studio Toei announces first three video games from newly created Toei Games

• Master Blaster
  Apr 27, 2026

Toei or not Toei? That is the question.

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• Japan
• (Debug Nephemee • Hino • Kill the La • movies • Toei • Toei Games • video games)

Buddhist priest arrested for using health insurance card he found on the street

• Master Blaster
  Apr 25, 2026

Priest enlightened himself of the burdens incurred when paying for insurance.

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• Japan
• (Buddhism • crime • fraud • health insurance • Healthcare • MyNumber card • priest)

Happy 40th birthday, Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A!

• Master Blaster
  Apr 24, 2026

You don’t look a day over 30 lives.

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• Japan
• (famicom • Game Boy • Gradius • Konami • konami code • Life Force • music • Nami-chan • Nemesis • Nippen no Miko-chan • salamander • Shota Hattori • up up down down left right left right b a • video games)

Burger King offers every fast food franchisee in Japan 40M yen to jump ship and join them

• Master Blaster
  Apr 23, 2026

McWhoNow? I’ll take the 40 mil.

Read More

• Japan
• (Burger King • business • expansion • fast food • franchises • promotions)

Shinkansen operator apologizes for three-minute delay because conductor was napping

• Master Blaster
  Apr 23, 2026

The apology may have taken longer than the delay.

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• Japan
• (Aomori • delay • employment • inflatable pillow • JR East • naps • Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station • shinkansen • Tohoku)

Mr. Sato shares his own secret Ministop hack to help save the ailing convenience store

• Master Blaster
  Apr 21, 2026

Hopefully, this is just a mini stop on Ministop’s road to success.

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• Japan
• (convenience stores • Hokkaido milk • Hokkaido potatoes • ice cream • junk food • Minisof • Ministop • snacks)

61-year-old Japanese fisherman falls off boat and defies odds to swim to safety

• Master Blaster
  Apr 17, 2026

Captain Crunch Time.

Read More

• Japan
• (accident • accidnet • amazing • Ehime • fisherman • Ocean • overboard • sea • swimming)

Kinotake Mother AI developed to study Japan’s divide between chocolate cookie snacks

• Master Blaster
  Apr 16, 2026

AI claims it can tell which you like just by looking at you.

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• Japan
• (AI • chocolate • cookies • food • kinoko no yama • Kinotake Mother • Kitakita no Konokono Yamasato • Meiji • sweets • takenoko no sato • weird)

Yoshinoya invites you to give the gift of beef bowls this Mother’s Day

• Master Blaster
  Apr 14, 2026

I mean, if I were a mother, I’d appreciate it.

Read More

• Japan
• (Arita ware • beef bowls • COK • fast food • food • gyudon • Mother's Day • Speedia • Wakasa lacquerware • Yoshinoya)

Famous koi ponds overwhelmed with tourists throwing thousands of coins in them

• Master Blaster
  Apr 8, 2026

Koi and coins don’t mix.

Read More

• Japan
• (coins • culture • Japanese etiquette • koi • luck • Oshino Hakkai • ponds • superstition)

Japan named most sleep-deprived country for fourth year in a row, according to survey

• Master Blaster
  Apr 7, 2026

Look, I’m tired. Just think up your own lede for this, OK?

Read More

• Global, Japan
• (dolphins • health • ResMed • science • sleep • survey)

Licca-chan dolls released in North America for first time in nearly 60 years

• Master Blaster
  Apr 4, 2026

Huge in Japan but rarely seen outside of it.

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• Japan
• (anime • Detective Conan • dolls • Frieren • Kuromi • Licca-chan • manga • My Melody • Sanrio • Takara Tomy • Tomy • toys)

The Almost All Lettuce Burger from Dom Dom Burger really lives up to its name

• Master Blaster
  Apr 2, 2026

Dom Dom turns over a new leaf.

Read More

• Japan
• (Almost All Lettuce Burger • burgers • COK • crazy • Dom Dom Burger • fast food • food • Lettuce • Saizeriya • SNJO • taste test • weird)

Japanese masturbatory aid and insect repellent companies collab on a new product

• Master Blaster
  Mar 30, 2026

A stroke of genius?

Read More

• Japan
• (collaborations • Earth • insect repellent • shopping • strange • Tenga)

Japanese politicians working to promote plastic model culture as a cultural asset

• Master Blaster
  Mar 27, 2026

Govpla?

Read More

• Japan
• (culture • Gunpla • hobbies • model kits • modeling • models • politics Cool Japan • Yoko Kamikawa)

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• Recent Posts

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  3. Starbucks Japan releases new Bearista glass tumbler that changes character with every drink
  4. Ichiran Japan is giving away free 2027 desk calendars, and here’s how to get them
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  1. Pokémon Company announces first-ever permanent Pokémon store to open outside Asia
  2. Japan ends tax-free shopping system for foreign tourists, new refund request system now in effect
  3. Japan’s TeamLab digital art group is opening a permanent museum in America
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  7. New Studio Ghibli anime gets extended run at the only cinema in Japan where it’s being shown
  8. Osaka’s famous Glico Running Man will be removed and replaced with a new-look sign
  9. Tokyo cracks down on Airbnb-style rentals with new laws limiting operator days and more
  10. Studio Ghibli creates illustrated Kyoto sightseeing map, available at any 7-Eleven Japan store

  Yearly

  1. Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
  2. Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
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  5. Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
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  7. Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
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  10. Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa

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