This Mindful Monday, I’m still carrying the energy of the recent San Francisco Sakura Festival with me.
Being there as a member of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and as a JET alumna felt especially meaningful. The weather was glorious, the crowds were enormous, and the atmosphere was joyful in that very particular way that only community festivals seem to create. Everywhere you looked, there were cherry blossoms, smiles, music, parades, and people showing up for something bigger than themselves.
What struck me most was how many volunteer groups were involved. From early setup to guiding crowds to keeping things moving smoothly, so much of the festival rested on people quietly giving their time and attention. That kind of volunteering is a form of mindfulness in action. You are present, focused, and connected to the people around you, not thinking about what comes next, but fully engaged in what is happening right now.
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The recent opening night of Chiharu Shiota’s exhibition at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum was one of those experiences that stays with you long after you leave the building.
I went with a friend who worked at the museum for many years, which made the evening especially meaningful. Walking through the galleries with someone who knows the institution from the inside, who understands the care, history, and intention behind exhibitions like this, added a deeply personal layer to the experience. It felt less like attending an opening and more like sharing a moment shaped by art, memory, and connection.
Shiota’s work is often described as immersive, but that word still falls short. Her installations are environments you move through physically and emotionally. Thread, space, absence, and presence are woven together in a way that quietly demands reflection.
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This series explores the three dimensions of a fulfilling life inspired by Shigehiro Oishi’s book Life in 3 Dimensions and my own experiences living in Japan, moving to the United States, and working between both cultures.
By the time I reached the final chapters during another morning walk, I felt as if Oishi had handed me a lens that clarified the shape of my life. The three dimensions he describes were already present in my experiences, but I had never considered how intentionally they could work together and how I can use this knowledge to help others.
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This week’s Fun Friday topic comes from my kitchen rather than a conference room and involves a bubbling jar that has caused more than one raised eyebrow in my very Japan-focused world.
Yes, I’ve started making kombucha. And no, I do not mean kombu-cha, the comforting Japanese seaweed tea many of us know and love. That distinction has become surprisingly important.
Like many people, I was first introduced to kombucha as something you buy, not something you raise. It shows up in health food stores looking suspiciously like soda, tastes somewhere between vinegar and fruit juice, and promises all kinds of gut-related miracles. At some point, possibly after one too many conversations about fermentation traditions in Japan, I thought it might be interesting to try making it myself.
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For Fun Friday, I want to invite you to think for a moment about your own long‑running professional struggles. The ones you have worked around for years, compensated for, maybe even joked about, but never quite solved. For me, that was polite and business Japanese.
After more than 30 years of living and working with Japan, I could function just fine. I could participate in meetings, manage relationships, and get my point across. And yet, business Japanese always felt like a trap. I vividly remember trying so hard to be polite that I once said almost the opposite of what I actually meant. I looked over and saw my husband’s eyebrows slowly rise, which told me everything I needed to know about how that had landed. Moments like that are funny in retrospect, but in the moment they are frustrating and confidence‑shaking.
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The G1 Summit, convened by GLOBIS, is a leadership forum grounded in action. Its principles are to make proposals rather than criticize, to act rather than stay theoretical, and to cultivate awareness as leaders responsible for society. What is so appealing to me about G1 is the seriousness of the conversations, especially when it comes to how Japan navigates global change with long‑term intent.
I attended the Business and AI session at G1 wearing the same two hats as before, as a GLOBIS MBA alumna and on behalf of Japan Consulting Office. This session felt especially relevant to my day‑to‑day work, because it was not about abstract AI potential. It was about how real organizations, especially Japanese ones, can govern, adopt, and live with AI in a world that is increasingly polarized and fragmented.
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The G1 Summit in Silicon Valley, convened last week in Half Moon Bay by GLOBIS, is a leadership forum built on a simple but demanding premise: ideas only matter if they lead to action. Its principles are to make proposals rather than criticize, to act rather than stay theoretical, and to cultivate self‑awareness as leaders with responsibility for society. I’ll be sharing my experiences joining this summit during the next few weeks.
I attended the GLOBIS SV G1 Global event wearing two hats: as a GLOBIS MBA alumna and on behalf of Japan Consulting Office. That dual perspective shaped how I listened. I was not there just to absorb ideas, but to understand what they mean for Japan–US business, policy, and leadership in practice.
From the very first plenary, one message was clear. Japan is investing deeply in the United States, financially, strategically, and emotionally. This is not passive capital flow. It reflects a shared belief that Japan and the US are entering a new phase of cooperation, one that feels less ideological and more grounded in mutual need.
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A Japanese expat manager recently received a surprise during their annual performance review in the U.S.: a comment from their American team that they were “distant and hard to approach.” The manager was stunned. In Japan, maintaining formality and emotional restraint is often seen as professional. In the U.S., it can be interpreted as cold or disengaged.
This moment revealed a deeper issue: the feedback gap between jinji and U.S. HR.
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In a recent ruling, Mizuho Bank Ltd. successfully defended itself against a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit brought by a former U.S.-based vice president. While the legal outcome favored Mizuho, the case highlights a deeper issue that many global Japanese companies face: the perception of bias and the need for culturally intelligent HR practices. 最近の判決において、みずほ銀行株式会社は、米国拠点の元副社長による差別および報復に関する訴訟に対して、成功裏に自己防衛を果たしました。法的な結果はみずほ銀行に有利なものでしたが、このケースは、多くのグローバルな日本企業が直面しているより深刻な課題を浮き彫りにしています。それは、偏見の認識と、文化的知性を備えた人事施策の必要性です。
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