Where are you from?
Left coast of the USA. Born in WA, raised in L.A., moved for college to Bay Area and worked in game biz in Silicon Valley.
How long have you been in Japan?
I have lived here in 1993-94, and from 2001 to present, except a big part of 2012. Just over 21 years total.
Why did you come to Japan?
The first time, it was due to my own fascination with Japanese culture, from growing up in a Japanese descended community.
The 2nd time, I wanted to give my wife the kind of cooperative, extended-family-assisted childrearing that is common in generational homes, and I was scouted by a company that was only 15 minutes away from her hometown.
What were your expectations?
I grew up in a USA community that was Japanese descendants (nikkei) at about 30%, so I partly thought it would be like a big version of my hometown, and partly thought it would look like the backgrounds in a Godzilla movie.
What are some challenges as an American?
Watching my children grow up as Japanese people. My daughter is an insanely good student, stunningly capable, but Japan's business structure will limit her career options in a way that would make an American woman's head explode. It is obscene. The "glass ceiling" comment in the video really landed with me.
The foreign woman who had a female friend with no Japanese ability who was hired because of her MBA and rose over the course of a year - it's likely a prestige thing for the company, having a foreign MBA in their midst. I wonder if she's really engaged or being leveraged at work, or if it's decorative.
Overwork culture?
Yes. It is everywhere. My BIL worked at Nissan and was there from 7:30AM until 11PM every day. My non-crunch hours at a J-dev were 50+ hour weeks, with 6 of 12 months every year in actual crunch, which was 70-80 hour weeks. It may have made sense during postwar recovery and the Bubble, but there is no reason to cause people this much struggle, particularly when there is no payout, no benefit. It is vile and ubiquitous. I honestly think the reason the government/zaibatsu went after Nissan's Carlos Ghosn so hard was because he came into their house and told them how to do stuff. It was intended to have a chilling effect on anyone ever daring to interrupt the status quo.