Proud to Be a Japanese Woman

Today, I want to share my feelings after hearing on the radio this morning that Japan (again) ranks quite low in gender equality compared to other countries - as well as my observations from my first participation in a well-known 4-day Tony Robbins program.

First, I would like to talk about equality between men and women in Japan.

When I first lived in the US in high school, I initially had the notion that I “had to be American.” I was trying my best to be as American as possible, partly because I was 15 years old, but also because I thought that otherwise I would not fit in with my surroundings.

But all I got from people around me were questions and curious inquiries about Japan and the Japanese people.

I still remember that at some point I let go of this belief that I had to become an American to fit in, and I felt like a huge burden lifted off my shoulders.

Even after I entered the workforce, there were several times when I almost denied myself for being Japanese or even just a woman.

For example, when I had to lead my work among various ethnic groups.

When I talk with non-Japanese people, I often have to stand up and talk with them as they like to casually have conversation. (Online is good in that respect, lol)

And there were times when I, as a short Japanese woman, wondered how I would be the leader in that situation.

At that time, I jokingly said, "Hey, my neck’s getting tired from looking up at all of you, do you mind sitting down?"

Everyone sat down with a smile in an instant, and everyone’s mood relaxed and things moved on very openly and positively.

I believe that the outcome is always drastically different depending on whether you focus on your minority status or take advantage of it.

Similarly, in the case of low gender equality in Japan, I believe it’s up to each one of us as individuals to complain about that or to flip it and take advantage of it in a positive way.

I participated in a 4-day online Tony Robbins program for the first time until yesterday, and I would like to share some of my observations from the program.

I applied for this program with Japanese language support because it was the last time the Japanese language support was available for this program, and I wanted to learn about the support system of the management and other aspects of the program from a business standpoint.

At first, I felt that many of the questions and comments that the Japanese participants exchanged in the chat room stemmed from a group mindset, instead of focusing on individual issues.

This is not a good or bad thing.

I was reminded that this is also linked to the concept of “value levels” we learned at the master level of NLP.

I listened to simultaneous interpretation for about 5 minutes on the first day, but did not use it because I could not focus on the content. It may depend on the person, but I am sure it happens when you understand both languages.

There are many other details that I noticed as a first-time participant, so I will leave those for another time.

I saw the expressions on the faces and heard the words and actions of the participants from various countries through this program. And then when I heard on the radio this morning about the low rate of gender equality in Japan, I felt a renewed sense of pride in my own identity.

My mother used to fly around the world as a CA and felt that the world is a big place, and she gave me many precious experiences and opportunities so that her children could experience her vision.

Today is the her memorial day.

I am proud to be a Japanese woman, and I’m inspired to continue moving forward in my own way, in the best ways that I can.

It’s the end of a long weekend in Japan. I know some of you may find it a bit difficult to get back to your daily routine, but let's keep going!

I wish the rest of you a week with as many smiles as possible!