Today, July 1st, marks 10 years of marriage, and it made me stop and think about everything that led to this point.

Building a life across cultures has a way of putting things into perspective. It teaches you quickly what matters, what doesn’t, and how much of anything long term comes down to communication, patience, and consistency. It’s not always straightforward, but it’s grounding in a way that everything else seems to connect back to.

This year also marks 14 years since I moved back to Japan, this time expecting it to be permanent. But the starting point goes further back to 1997, when I first lived here after graduating in Japanese Studies. At the time, there was no bigger plan. I also graduated alongside the now CEO of Japan Consulting Office (JCO), which only really makes sense in hindsight. It’s one of those long-term connections that quietly comes back around.

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There are so many events and summits taking place across Japan right now that it sometimes feels impossible to keep up. Each one is thoughtfully curated, brings together inspiring speakers, and offers valuable learning and connection opportunities. I genuinely enjoy participating in these gatherings, meeting people, exchanging ideas, and contributing to meaningful conversations around leadership, global teams, and organizational growth. At the same time, the reality is that being physically present at every event is not always feasible.

Scheduling conflicts, travel, and ongoing work commitments mean that difficult choices have to be made. Even when there is a strong desire to attend in person, it is not always possible to do so in a way that does justice to both the event and existing responsibilities. Rather than stepping back entirely, the question becomes how to continue contributing in a way that still delivers value.

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This morning, as we are getting ready for the session with Quick USA, I found myself thinking about something I have been noticing quite often in Japanese organizations operating in the U.S.

There is a strong tendency to keep things open just a little longer.

Not because people are unsure, but because they are still aligning, still taking context into account, still making sure that the direction is right before it is fully stated.

In Japan, this usually works very naturally. People are used to reading the situation, picking up on nuance, and understanding that clarity builds gradually over time.

But in the U.S., the same approach can feel different. What is meant as thoughtful alignment can easily be experienced as a lack of direction.

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There is something I keep seeing across many of the teams I work with.

People are capable.
People are committed.
People genuinely want to make things work.

And still, something feels harder than it should.

Decisions take longer than expected.
Good ideas lose momentum.
Strong hires don’t stay as long as hoped.

Not because people are not trying. But because they are often working from different assumptions about what “good” looks like.

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A conversation I had recently stayed with me.

A leader told me, “Our team is doing everything right… but somehow it’s still not clicking.”

I hear versions of this quite often in my work. Especially in organizations with Japanese and US team members, where everyone is committed, thoughtful, and trying to do a good job.

What I often notice is not a lack of effort, but a gap in how things are understood.

Expectations that were never fully verbalized.
Assumptions that feel obvious to one side, but invisible to the other.

And over time, that creates distance. Not dramatic conflict, just a quiet sense of misalignment.

The work I do often sits right in that space.

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After sharing my reflections on the human connections at the Japan Texas Economic Summit a week or so ago, I wanted to follow up with some of the ideas and insights that stayed with me from the content itself. Texas policy makers and business owners brought an incredible amount of openness and practical insight to the table, and the conversations felt refreshingly grounded in reality.

I joined several breakout sessions, including one on Workforce and another on Space Collaboration. Both were thoughtful and future facing. The workforce discussion in particular highlighted how Texas is thinking seriously about talent pipelines, skills development, and regional resilience. The space session reminded me how much overlap there is between Japan and Texas when it comes to long term thinking, public private cooperation, and ambition that spans decades rather than quarters.

Still, the topic that truly stopped me in my tracks was power generation and energy use.

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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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