I would like to present some unnamed examples of people I've known who have started their careers as regular employees in companies here in Tokyo and have aspired for more and risen accordingly. Let's start close to home. As an entrepreneur...

Not so long ago, a long-term friend with extensive Japan experience called me from Silicon Valley asking if there were any CEO jobs going here in Japan. I have personally worked with this guy and know him to be an outstanding leader, communicator (bilingual), and technologist. But while I would hire him in an instant, for...

This weekend I happened to be going to Kyushu and one of my managers asked me early Friday morning to interview a candidate living in Miyazaki. We were to meet in Hakata, and I wasn't too happy about interrupting my break until she told me that he was a CIR (Coordinator for International Relations). You see, in our company the letters...

One of the business world's most interesting job categories is design and marketing. And yet the opportunity for English-only foreigners to pursue this career path in Japan is extremely limited - mainly to positions servicing export companies, where the materials...