Aldo and Joëlle arrived in Japan more than ten years ago. Attached to good terroir, they wanted to import Italian products. However, unpredictable events made them move to Fukuoka, on the island of Kyushu. There, they fell in love with the local green tea and, with some friends, they ended up founding Ikkyu, an online…
Richard Katz: Inflation, Startups, and Japan’s Economic Future
The longer you live abroad, the more vested you become in the economic stability and success of the country you now call home. Having lived in Japan since 2009, my livelihood is firmly rooted here, and I can’t help but be intrigued by Japan’s unique economic situation. After briefly exploring how the current wave of…
Cynthia Usui: Taking the Road Less Traveled through Japan’s Hospitality Industry
Despite government attempts to increase labor mobility and gender equality, Japan’s labor market remains notoriously rigid. The lifetime employment system is still common and coveted. Obtaining the lauded status of seishain (permanent/regular employee) at an established organization means following a well-trodden path with little room for detours. Deviate from the status quo, for whatever reason,…
Turning a Japanese Abandoned School into a Sustainable Factory
In summer 2021, I interviewed Go Nakano, CEO and founder member of the peanut butter company Happy Nuts Day. During our talk, he explained why he left a big advertising company and went on to create Happy Nuts Day with his skateboarding friends. He was thriving, creating products that reflected his values, surrounded by people…
Life After Japan: The Lasting Impact of Living and Working Abroad
For those with more adventurous personalities, taking advantage of the opportunity to live abroad is an obvious choice. For many of us, however, the idea of living in a new country, with all the language and cultural differences that come with it, is a difficult decision, even for an incredibly appealing country such as Japan….
Landing a Job in Japan in 2022: Career Outlook for Foreign Residents
To be honest, when I first conceived of this article, I was overly optimistic. In the fall of 2021, COVID-19 cases in Japan were at an all-time low, and there was that blink-and-you’ll-miss-it window where students and workers from abroad could once again enter the country. Then came the Omicron wave, and despite World Health…
Conduct a Personal SWOT Analysis to Study Japanese More Efficiently
Long-time Kokoro Media readers know that I like to apply various frameworks to the process of studying Japanese. I especially enjoy importing concepts from the business world to do this, and in this article, I’ll explain how you can apply the SWOT framework to your Japanese studies. Read on to learn what a SWOT analysis…
Henry Seals: Citizenship, Communication, and Community in Japan
I first met Henry Seals, a fellow American living in Japan, at a Tokyo-based professional networking event in 2013. At that time, I had no idea I was exchanging business cards with someone who would eventually become a Japanese citizen and the first foreign-born, naturalized human rights commissioner in Japan. Henry is a natural communicator,…
Inami, the Japanese Woodcarvers’ Town
Inami is a town of 8,000 inhabitants located in Toyama Prefecture. With more than a hundred sculptors’ workshops, it is said to be the number one city for sculptors in Japan. After moving there in 2016, architect Tomotsugu Yamakawa decided to turn part of his recently refurbished house into an accommodation for visitors to use…
Unlocking the Power of Professional Networking in Japan: An Interview with Sayuri Nishimoto
Networking is like exercise—often something we’d rather avoid but necessary for enriching our lives. However, just as with exercise, you can learn to enjoy networking, with the right approach. Networking as a foreigner in Japan is especially nuanced, but fortunately, Sayuri Nishimoto, senior client solutions manager at LinkedIn, agreed to share her advice on bridging…