Last week, I wrote about human connection and how it often reveals itself in quiet, unplanned moments. This weekend, that idea stayed with me in a different way, as my husband and I spent time volunteering at the Colma Japanese Cemetery with JCCNC to prepare the grounds for the Memorial Day service.
This was our second year helping with the cleanup, and we already know we will be back next year.
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Last week, I was able to join the Japan-Texas Economic Summit #JTES in Arlington, Texas thanks to the sponsorship and support of the US Japan Council. I want to start there, because access matters, and I do not take lightly the fact that I was invited into this space not as a speaker or sponsor, but simply as a participant who was trusted to show up, listen, and engage.
There was a lot of substantive content at JTES, and I will post about the technical and policy related insights next week. For this Mindful Monday, I want to focus on what stayed with me on a much more personal level.
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This past Monday, May 4th, I spent my birthday in an unexpected way. At Stanford University, joining a full day titled
Frontiers of Defense Tech in the Shifting US Alliances with Japan and Beyond: AI, Cyber, and Space.
Yes. May the Fourth. Star Wars Day.
I couldn’t help but smile at the coincidence.
On paper, that title sounds heavy. Defense. Alliances. AI. Cyber. Space. The kind of words that feel very far removed from everyday life. And yet, sitting there all day, listening to panel after panel, I found myself thinking less about governments and geopolitics and much more about daily life. About how quietly, deeply, and invisibly these technologies have already become part of how we live.
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I didn’t realize tiny towels were a thing until I lived in Japan.
At some point, without making a conscious decision, I just started carrying one. Folded neatly. Always in my bag. It became as automatic as grabbing my phone or wallet.
Public restrooms don’t always have paper towels. Sometimes there’s an air dryer, sometimes nothing at all. So you dry your hands on your own towel, fold it back up, and move on. No fuss. No dripping hands. No awkward shaking them dry.
Over time, you stop noticing you’re doing it.
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I have a soft spot for gachapon.
You know the machines: rows and rows of them, standing quietly in train stations, shopping centers, and random corners you didn’t expect to be charming. You put in a few coins, turn the handle, and out comes a plastic capsule with a tiny surprise inside.
I don’t seek them out deliberately. I just… notice them. And somehow I almost always stop.
What I love is the seriousness with which people approach them. Full-grown adults crouching down, scanning the display with intense concentration. Office workers in suits carefully opening capsules like they’re handling something precious. People comparing what they got with friends, or sighing dramatically at a duplicate.
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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 makes G1 particularly meaningful for me is how consistently it places Japan at the center of global conversations, not as a follower, but as a shaper.
I attended the closing session, “New Golden Age of the US‑Japan Alliance: Where Do We Go From Here?” as a GLOBIS MBA alumna and on behalf of Japan Consulting Office. It felt fitting that this conversation came at the end of G1. It was less about diagnosis and more about responsibility. Less about what is happening, and more about what Japan and the US choose to do next.
The framing of a “new golden age” was deliberately provocative. Not celebratory, but conditional.
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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 keeps me engaged with G1 is its focus on long‑term responsibility, particularly where Japan’s global role intersects with business, security, and leadership.
I attended the session “Navigating a Strategic Roadmap for the US‑Japan Alliance” as a GLOBIS MBA alumna and on behalf of Japan Consulting Office. This session felt especially consequential. Unlike abstract geopolitical debates, the conversation focused on constraints, trade‑offs, and decisions Japan must make even when the options are imperfect.
The discussion made it clear that the alliance is strong, but it is also evolving under pressure from security realities, economic shifts, and domestic political considerations in Japan.
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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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