All tagged Passionate

Lincoln Waweru — A Kenyan’s Experience of Living in Japan (Part 3)

Lincoln Waweru — A Kenyan’s Experience of Living in Japan (Part 3)

Julie Taeko
Life, Japan, Empowerment, Female Empowerment

A jovial, kind-hearted, vibrant, and highly intelligent young man, Lincoln Waweru hails from Kenya. Relaxed, yet driven, Lincoln has the perfect personality for a challenging PhD research topic — the remediation and proper utilization of contaminated soils from an environmentally sustainable perspective at Kyoto University’s Global Environmental Studies Department. With plans to graduate in March 2020, Lincoln would love to work full-time in Japan or Kenya at potentially a university or a research company.

Needless to say, Lincoln has an important mission to fulfill in Japan, with his critical research topic that will help create a more environmentally sustainable future.

なぜこのビジネスパーソンにフォーカスしたネットワーキングサービスが日本で支持されているのか. | Why This Professional Networking Service Is Excelling In Japan

なぜこのビジネスパーソンにフォーカスしたネットワーキングサービスが日本で支持されているのか. | Why This Professional Networking Service Is Excelling In Japan

Julie Taeko
Entrepreneurs, Female Entrepreneurship, Female Empowerment, Japan

A bilingual article featuring Japanese female founder, Akiko Naka of Wantedly that was originally published here.

Wantedlyの創始者である、仲暁子さんの人柄を表現すると、次の3つの言葉が当てはまると言えます。自信がある。聡明。そして親しみやすい。そんな仲さんが立ち上げた、日本発のビジネスパーソンにフォーカスしたネットワーキングサービスWantedlyには大きく分けて2つの特徴があります。

How This Japanese Female Entrepreneur Succeeded in Designing Her Own Career Path

How This Japanese Female Entrepreneur Succeeded in Designing Her Own Career Path

Julie Taeko
Female Entrepreneurship, Japan, Female Empowerment, Entrepreneurs II

An Interview with Designer Sachie Suzuki of a Women's Boutique in Tokyo

Right after Sachie Suzuki's eldest child turned 1 in 1991, she launched her boutique in Tokyo. From full-time housewife to launching her own brand, Sachie made a dramatic change.

The reason, you may ask? Well, she was honestly a bit bored as a full-time housewife, sought to be financially independent, and she deeply desired to design unique items.

A Captivating Role Model for Future Female Entrepreneurs in Japan

A Captivating Role Model for Future Female Entrepreneurs in Japan

Julie Taeko
Female Entrepreneurship, Women Leaders, Japan, Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurs II

On a sunny day in Tokyo, I visited Kazuyo Saka's high-end women's fashion store called Kana. A warm, sociable, social-media friendly Japanese entrepreneur, Kazuyo struck me as a woman I could truly look up to as an inspirational role model.

Kazuyo always had a profound love for fashion, and quickly began working for a small design company right after finishing school, similar to entrepreneur Yukiko Yamamoto. While there, she developed a keen sense of discovering high-quality and inexpensive raw materials, and finessed her design skills.

Why This Professional Networking Service is Excelling in Japan

Why This Professional Networking Service is Excelling in Japan

Julie Taeko
Female Entrepreneurship, Japan, Women Leaders, Entrepreneurs II

Confident. Transparent. And approachable. These are the 3 words that I would use to quickly describe Akiko Naka, founder of Wantedly — the game-changing, professional networking service in Japan that offers two unique services.

One, Wantedly allows candidates who are interested in a particular company to visit the offices of the potential employer — a highly unusual service in Japan. Two, Wantedly’s mission is to create: “A world where work meets passion.”

A Calming & Creative Twist to a Centuries Old Tradition

A Calming & Creative Twist to a Centuries Old Tradition

Julie Taeko
Female Empowerment, Women Leaders, Japan, Female Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurs II

Graceful. Elegant. And mired in tradition. These were my three takeaways from my visit with Atsuko Mori at Camellia — the founder of a traditional tea ceremony experience, geared towards foreigners in Kyoto. Atsuko started her company a mere 3 years ago, and already plans on expanding to a new location within the next year. 

Now with a steady business under her belt with 13 people working for her, all of whom are women, Atsuko is conducting more PR and making more time for herself. She recently appeared on television, was featured on Facebook Japan’s #SheMeansBusiness to promote female founders, created a video on how to make matcha tea, and married a man from the UK