Minako

I didn't always have a clear idea what I wanted to do, but I was always interested in comms and PR growing up. Growing up in the US, I've always been in situations where I've been considered the minority, including in New Mexico, where it felt like there were zero Asians. After that experience, coming back to Japan, I thought I would fit in more because I was Japanese. But of course, a lot of people didn't see me as a Japanese because of the way I spoke. So, I felt very alienated.

But what that really taught me was the value of having an external perspective, and that's what we ultimately provide to our clients right now. We take everything into the bigger picture to help solve whatever issue or challenges that they are facing. And I really feel that all the experiences throughout my life have really helped me. I do believe that if you really want to make positive change, you need really good communications. You can have a great product or technology, but you need to convince your potential customers, the employees who will be selling it, and the regulators, or else it won't be accepted and it won’t create the change that you want to see.

I started out here in a more junior role, and I've grown with the team. I’ve experienced different sides of the work, not only from Tokyo but working on projects with other offices as well. That has been a great learning experience, because it gives me an external perspective – always having that beginner’s mindset is something that I think that the firm always encourages. I think that is why I like being here, because you can build on your experience, but at the same time you don't get too carried away, because you do know where you started out.

Especially in Japan, there's a lot of debate right now on gender inequality and having more female professionals in managerial roles. I do feel like I always had difficulty finding a role model; but now looking back, I feel like you don't really have to find one, but more just look for elements across several people and then create your own. You don't really have to look for that one person, but you can learn from everyone. That’s what makes it fun to meet new people throughout your career and throughout the work.

I can imagine a lot of people say this, but I would say what I enjoy most about working here is the people. Everybody's really collaborative and everybody's very sharp -- they're bright and perceptive, but they're always eager and curious to learn more. And this applies to all levels. I also think everybody's highly empathetic, which is really important in the comms industry. A lot of the people that we work with – whether it's within the Tokyo office or other offices - they're great to work as team members, but they end up as great friends outside of the office, too.

The environment overall really encourages a collaborative working approach, and there’s a curiosity in wanting to learn what or how it's done in other offices. The culture that they come from, the offices that they come from, whether it's the cultural background or the regulatory background, everybody's just always keen on learning more so they can provide better advice or consultancy on whatever project we're working on.

I became a Director two years ago. I've basically been with Kekst CNC for a little over 10 years now. I've been with the firm for a really long time and our team has grown, and I would say the best thing about my current role has been growing together with the team and knowing what it feels like to be on different sides. It's not near the size of the London office, for example, but we did nearly double our personnel, and that is a big change for us. Growing together individually, but also as a team, has been a really great experience. We try to do initiatives to get better together, complement one another, and maximize our potential as a small, but fierce, team.

We work a lot with the New York office, especially on financial communications projects. I would say we work with them the most, and we've started to work in recent years with the London team as well. Everyone's really collaborative. They're very insightful. And although we work for the same firm, our expertise and track record in each practice area is slightly different. It's always a great learning experience, and we complement each other for what the ask is.

In my free time, I like surfing because it's basically you against nature, and you have so little control over everything. It really depends on the conditions, what the weather is like, how the waves are. But I feel like that helps me acknowledge that not everything you do can be controlled. It's a good reminder to stay grounded and humble, and just to be open to a lot of possibilities.

Another hobby I like is photography. I know everybody's taking pictures on their phones. But recently, I've been using my grandfather's twin lens reflex camera. What fascinates me is to think that it's seen three different generations: my grandfather used it, my father used it, and now I'm using it. And to just imagine the different scenery that they saw through that lens. That's what intrigues me.