Going to Tokyo

I am hanging out at JFK lounge to wait for my flight boarding time. I have been going back to Japan many times this year, I am just going for a week this time on business but going back again later July, and also I was originally planning to go to Japan in August on vacation which makes my 3rd Japan trip within 2 months! I don't think I have ever been back to Japan this often past 10 years.

Everyone is curious why I am going back there so often and I understand.. My main job is to do my industry's research in U.S. (financial technology is my field) and share the information with Japan. Usually this industry is far advanced in Europe and U.S. and Japanese people are always starving for information in the industry such as other companies' case studies, cutting edge industry practices, new regulations, new IT vendor solutions, new trends etc....

So what I do here is go to conferences, conduct many interviews with industry people and analyze situation and give presentations in Japan. When I am in Japan I do many presentations to executives at financial institutions and also internal executives as well. Sometimes I think it is crazy to think that this young lady is presenting stuff to old executives in Japan about what is going on in industry front. I enjoy it but at the same time it is very nervous to give such presentations to experts.I have to make sure that I know details, I sound confident and reliable.

Usually if I have good information, people don't really care how old I am or how impolite I could be considering Japanese business standard. One thing really makes me nervous is I sometime don't know the right "respect" language use for elderly in Japan. 

Also I am doing this big branding project for my company, they haven't done branding outside of Japan so I am trying to initiate the project, this is pretty fun but a lots of work to coordinate, especially it is hard to persuade Japanese executive how things should be done outside of Japan just because they are not exposed to different cultures before.

Anyway. This is why I am going back to Japan very often, now you know!