Since 1969 he has specialized in reporting on Japan, where he served as Tokyo and East Asia bureau chief for Time Magazine. He retired from Time in 1992 and directed the University of Southern California's Center for International Journalism for four years. In addition to his reporting for Time he has published four Japan-related books: Made in Japan: Akio Morita and Sony, with Akio Morita (E.P. Dutton, 1986), Chrysanthemums and Thorns, (St. Martin's Press, 1992), and Toyota: People, Ideas and the Challenge of the New (Penguin, Ltd, London, 1999). Reingold moved to Portland in 2004 where he continues to write on Japan and Asian affairs.