The storyteller:

I have always envisioned being a storyteller for global clients, to cross borders for their success.

Growing up as an only child, the daughter of Japanese expats, in a tiny rural town in Germany, I had a privilege of enormous free time, vast nature around me and the bonus gift of opportunities to visit historical sites. Every day sparked my imagination. In my free time, and even for school assignments, I would write little manga, novels, poems, and songs—any daydreams that came to my mind. I was happiest when there was an audience, and they laughed or appreciated my efforts. This, most often, was my mother, obviously.

Several years later, I found myself back in Tokyo—my supposed hometown—after nine years abroad. At the age of 12, I faced difficulties in making even one friend. It took me three years to make friends and blend into society. Three long years of teenage solitude. I learned a lot about Japanese culture and behaviors simply by observing my classmates, because that was all I could do. Overcoming the cultural gap made me think that in the future, I could and should be someone who helped facilitate people across all walks of life to communicate and get along better.

It didn’t take long for me to be captivated by comparative religion and human anthropology; the studies of human beliefs and behaviors, and the cultures surrounding them. It felt like a calling to me. I even imagined pursuing an academic career, but then remembered the story of my childhood: what if I could make good use of my learning and talent to prevent what I went through?

Then I joined Hakuhodo Inc., the marketing company that treasures Sei-katsu-sha* Insight, a philosophy that exactly embodies what I believe in: when communicating, understanding people and culture matters.

So here I am at Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living ASEAN, a Senior Researcher and Regional Strategic Planning Director stationed in Bangkok, Thailand. I engage in extensive research on ASEAN sei-katsu-sha’s lifestyles and behaviors (yes, my dream of a life in academia partially came true!) and also work as Regional Strategist for various global clients.

As a strategist, what I do is write the best story to deliver the beauty, excellence or ambition of the product or brand. As strategy is the core of the overall communication between a brand and sei-katsu-sha, I believe strategists should not always finish with strategy, but go even further: from strategy to execution. And the entire process of strategy to execution should be based on strong sei-katsu-sha insight.

Understanding sei-katsu-sha deeply from multiple perspectives helps me author stronger stories. Imagination and curiosity for the creative output also fuel my power to narrate. But my utmost calling, to “facilitate multicultural communication,” always pushes me forward in pursuing this profession, as well as in following my passion for building happier and stronger partnerships with clients and colleagues.

I am excited to continue this journey to find the best story for global and regional clients to tell, and to connect the client and sei-katsu-sha on a much deeper and more intimate level.

* “Sei-katsu-sha” is a term we use to describe people not simply as consumers, but as fully rounded individuals with their own lifestyles, aspirations and dreams.

Roles and titles current when this article was published in June 2023.