“I will always be a minority in every country I go to. I’m Punjabi but I was born and raised in Birmingham, England. My parents are both from East Africa, grandparents all from India. If I go to India, I’m a Brit. In the UK, I’m British Indian or British Asian. In Japan, I’m aContinue reading
“I’m surrounded by successful people in my family and it’s tough because there’s this expectation to be great. Then I come to Japan, put on a suit, and I’m trying my best, but I don’t know, the pressure to be something is a lot (especially being African American). I came here with no expectations, butContinue reading Social Stigma
“My whole life, I have been body-shamed for being too small for my age. After graduation, I had an interview with a radio station, and it went well. But then they told me the position wasn’t available to someone like me. They said I was too small. At first, I thought they were referring toContinue reading Size Doesn’t Matter
“I’m a bit of a control freak. But for someone who needs to plan everything, I just went with the flow when I came to Japan. I was considering two options after finishing university back home in Spain: unpaid internships that may lead to an actual position or go abroad and learn languages. I remember thinkingContinue reading Stick to Your Guns
“The job-hunting process in Japan is so outdated. It’s especially hard for foreigners. There’s only a small window of time to do it, which usually starts in the second semester of your junior year. You have to follow a schedule, otherwise you fall off the radar of prospective employers. In my case, I was inContinue reading Sclerotic and Antiquated
“Whenever people ask me if my life in Japan is tough, I tell them it is when you don’t have money. But compared to when I was growing up in Nepal, life here is cushy. We didn’t have water, electricity or gas on the mountain where we lived, and I used to walk for twoContinue reading Twist of Fate
“I had difficulties finding a job in the beginning and I knew it would be tough for me to fit in a Japanese working environment. One problem being my nose piercing. At my first job, my superiors didn’t appreciate me working in customer service with a nose piercing. So I had to go through ridiculousContinue reading Foodie Tours
“I want to help my own people because I’m noticing there’s two systems at play in America, where I’m from. It’s set up to reward those who have connections. It’s not what you know, but who you know. So, you can be the best of whatever field but they’re always going to go with someoneContinue reading I Got Your Back
**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “I like being an African woman so much, I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. I like being in Japan but for the first year I had culture shock. My first year, I couldn’t eat Japanese food, but after all that, my life in Japan began to have meaning. Being an African woman, sometimesContinue reading A Life of Learning
**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “Elderly Japanese women seem to have taken a liking to me. One dark and rainy day, a sweet old lady waved to me and said, ‘Come inside the umbrella or you’ll catch a cold.’ Then another time, while I was staring at the moon by myself to wait for the lunar eclipse, some middle-agedContinue reading Rare Experience
**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “I’m originally from Korea but moved to Canada and lived there for about 15 years, so I consider myself more Canadian than Korean now. I work in the legal industry and I practice law. I think I blend into Japanese society to a certain extent, which is why I like confusing people. Even thoughContinue reading Different Expectations
**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “I’m from Bangladesh. I quit working for my family business to come to Japan. I knew I could do so much more than just sell shoes. Someone once said, ‘You are the captain of your ship and master of your fate.’ That really struck a chord with me. So when I got a scholarshipContinue reading Master of My Fate
