I believe in science.  But I question the concept of evolution when I look at my cats.  The law of natural selection doesn’t seem to apply to them.  One of them is a hunter.  She crawls very slowly and low on the floor whenever she sees a bird on the porch railing, only to be … More Cats are masters

I once read that there isn’t a good translation for the Japanese word “mottainai.”  Mottainai has some elegant uses, however, it’s commonly used to express the desire for no waste.  Time is precious; time is mottainai.  Don’t waste paper; paper is mottainai.  According to Japanese dictionaries, mottainai is seeing that the value of something or … More Eat it to save it

I sometimes work late evenings, training clients in Japan via video conference.  I like one-on-one sessions, as I get to know the client on a personal level.  However, these sessions come with an occupational hazard.  Afterwards, I often need time to decompress. So, with a cup of tea in one hand and a TV remote … More Usual, but normal?

Over the last twenty-five years, I’ve seen many changes in the U.S.  Changes in what people think is normal or good or should be.  For a Japanese, whose home country takes a long time for any changes to occur, this has been quite remarkable.  I know that as in physics, some of the changes may … More In defense of analogue life

Twenty-five years ago, I flew over the Pacific Ocean and crossed an invisible border.  When I landed on the U.S. soil, I became a person who couldn’t speak.  That was a fundamental shift from being a person who couldn’t speak in English.  That inability, which had been a fraction of my being since it didn’t … More Am I special?

It took three messages from angels for me to read one book. I visited my son’s English class for a book review presentation, where fourth graders were dressed like a person from a biography and told the story from that person’s point of view.  I saw an Einstein, a Helen Keller and a Frederick Douglass.  … More Unbroken to broken, and a new hope

I was in a car with two women, who also work in the intercultural field.  One of them said, “Our clients are all surprised by the size of Americans.”  Newcomers to the U.S. encounter overweight people everywhere they go; therefore, they assume it is cultural.  She then described her view of the root cause, “Obesity … More You don’t know what it’s like

Occasionally, I get surprised by Americans’ verbal attacks. The other day, for example, I was standing on a subway platform in Manhattan that was crowded with commuters.  The New York subway is a world beyond imagination for Japanese, who are used to clean subway platforms.  In New York, the platform is narrow, dark and smells … More Kind Japanese

A CEO who had just come to the U.S. made a comment, “Everything is big in the U.S.” I nodded, “American’s physiques, houses and the amount of food they consume are all big.” He looked away, and added, “Well, those are big for sure, but I mean, some Americans tell barefaced humongous lies, don’t you … More Tell a lie, you’ll be a thief (a Japanese proverb)

My daughter must have run up the hill to the house, because her cheeks were red and she punched each word between breaths, “Please … don’t … have … plastic surgery!” “Do … do I need it?” I muttered to the empty space where she already had left. Several years ago, I trained a female … More Facial Beauty