Faces of Leadership

How do you, as a current or future leader, help to shape a better world?

“Returning from the program, I have gained greater confidence in my initiative. The problem I am addressing is no longer unique to Japan. Even in India in urban areas, the birth rate is starting to decline. In rural areas, women are suffering from traditional gender roles, a problem that is common in both India and Japan. As we begin our project post-Salzburg, the Narrative Kitchen, we find that it is aligning itself in a beautiful manner. I have this feeling that [sharing] food in the cafés is one of the solutions to bring people together [and] to hear unheard voices. I have hence decided to make an ecosystem in Japan. With 100 people by 2025, we have more places for people to gather in the initiative and [help] more people who are isolated. From there, I would like to broaden it worldwide; it may be in Salzburg, India, or the US. I don't know where it will be, but I would like to broaden it up to the next stage and I can now clearly visualize that."

What inspires you in your work? 

“When I first came across the Japan-India Transformative Technology Network, I was in Boston. Looking around me, I realized that the pain and desires of parenthood are similar no matter the place. This program gave me an opportunity to check how the issues are similar or different in the Indian and Japanese contexts. Working in the Japanese context, I also felt that I had reached a ceiling of approaching problems in the Japanese system. I was looking for newer avenues of exposure and ways of thinking. The Japan-India Transformative Technology program has been just that.” 

How do you, as a current or future leader, help to shape a better world? 

“More recently, I moved to New York for another assignment to encourage public-private partnerships to reach social issues. After two years, I returned to Japan to forecast business for the emerging market, mostly partnering with the EU. My latest project with the UN is to improve the income of small farmers in India. I employ blockchain and other technologies to enhance the traceability of the spice industry. Employment of technology is essential to improve information on small farmers.”

What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome in your professional life? 

“I'm still thinking of the theme I would like to focus on, perhaps the challenges I am facing for the business in emerging markets. In addressing social issues, the problem is business sustainability. For example, my current project is with the UN, but it cannot be sustained as a UN-funded project. There is a need to create business continuity and sustainability. There are several questions to address, such as how to scale the solutions with the country context, such as in India or across other similar countries. This is my work, and these are the challenges I face that I want to discuss with the JITTN network.”

What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome in your professional life? 

“Increasingly, when we talk about solving healthcare, we are not just solving health, we are often solving sanitation, gender equity, mobility, and women's empowerment all at the same time. This is because these are not problems that can be addressed in single interventional approaches. The approaches must be multi-dimensional, training different lenses, which is made possible by this program.”

How do you, as a current or future leader, help to shape a better world? 

“I am working at a company that offers specialized support for people with severe autism and their families in Japan. Our company is running two nursing care centers for autism. One is a residence for people with the most significant level of autism in Akita prefecture in Japan. In our care centers, we also provide them with vocational training and employment opportunities based on their skills and capacity. For example, I oversee the development of original coffee products made by autistic workers. Since they pay specific attention to the details, they're good at hand-picking the coffee beans.”