Aki Matsukura graduated from the First Department of Literature at Waseda University. After working for a publishing company specializing in educational materials for 9 years, she started teaching Japanese in 2002. She is currently teaching classes at various Japanese language institutions and universities.

Arrow-Small Interview with Aki Matsukura

Alexandra Shaitan has a Master’s Degree with a focus on TESOL, from Temple University, Japan Campus, and a PhD (ABD) in Applied Linguistics and Communication from Birkbeck College, University of London. Alexandra has lived and worked in the UK and Japan for the past 20 years, teaching numerous academic courses to ESL learners at different educational institutions including pre-schools, high schools and universities. Her current research interests include bilingualism, language and identity, learner autonomy and task-based language teaching. She recently delivered a workshop on “Language and Identity” at the University of West London, the UK, as an invited speaker. Her calling and passion are sharing her teaching experiences with others.

Alexandre Okamoto, originally from Brazil, has over 20 years of experience in Japan managing large-scale, complex projects for global corporations. Known for delivering successful outcomes in high-stakes environments, he has led diverse teams across continents, overseeing projects from inception through completion while ensuring alignment with strategic business goals. Alexandre continues to enhance his expertise through studies at institutions like the University of Oxford and Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ). He holds certifications including Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) Practitioner, PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP), and Scrum Master/Product Owner. Alexandre combines practical experience with theoretical knowledge, empowering students to excel in Portfolio, Program, and Project Management.

Alfonso Asensio is a Tokyo-based executive at a leading global digital technology company, specializing in data-driven marketing and digital advertising. A trilingual professional, Alfonso holds a digital marketing certification from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master’s degree from Nagoya University in Japan. His professional background includes pivotal business roles at major Japanese consumer corporations and Silicon Valley tech firms.
Alfonso has lectured at Rikkyo University and Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, and has been a guest speaker at the Madrid Chamber of Commerce in Spain and the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. He is the author of several books, including “World Wide Data” (2018) and “Chief Kickboxing Officer” (2019), both published in New York.

Betty is an experienced and passionate English language educator originally from Brisbane, Australia. After completing her Master's Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, she moved to Tokyo, where she has since spent several years teaching English across various international settings. With over 25 years of experience, Betty has taught in Brisbane, Taipei, London, and Tokyo, specializing in classes related to travel, hospitality, and cross-cultural communication.

As a supportive and dedicated teacher, Betty creates a comfortable and engaging learning environment where students are encouraged to develop their skills and expand their knowledge. Her wealth of experience, combined with her enthusiasm, makes her classroom an ideal place for students to thrive.

In addition to her teaching expertise, Betty brings practical knowledge from her extensive background in the hospitality industry. She has hands-on experience in managing day-to-day operations, promotions, and customer service at a café, fine dining restaurant, and the banquet department of a five-star hotel in Brisbane. While working as a Front of House Supervisor at a catering service in London, she was also a key member of the management team.

Betty’s diverse professional experience enriches her teaching, allowing her to offer students valuable insights into the practical aspects of customer service, communication, and business within the hospitality industry.

Chiyo Watabe holds a bachelor's degree in International and Cultural Studies from Tsuda College and a librarian certificate from Taisho University. She worked for Tsuda College library and Temple University Japan Campus library for thirty years. In addition to her career, she acquired a teacher's certificate of Taikanryu, modern style flower arrangement in 1978 and of Koryu, classic style flower arrangement in 1984. She has been (and still is) an adviser to the head of the school since 2005 and a member of Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Japan Ikebana Art Association since 2019. She has participated in various activities, especially Koryu Association Ikebana exhibitions for many years.

Christopher Rathbone currently works on international transactions with a large Japanese law firm in Tokyo, in addition to being an adjunct professor of Temple University of Japan Law School. He has worked as a legal translator since 2000 and taught classes and provided seminars on legal translation and legal writing for Japanese, Korean, Cambodian and US universities, as well as the Tokyo offices of many top US law firms. Mr. Rathbone graduated with honors from the University of Saskatchewan, earned a JD from the College of Law of the University of Saskatchewan and an LL.M. from Hokkaido University as a Monbusho Scholar. He is admitted as an attorney in Massachusetts.

Dan Sloan is a veteran multimedia journalist, who writes for Eurobiz Japan and other media after working at Reuters for 17 years. He is a frequent public speaker and commentator on current events, corporate communications and Japan for professional organizations and academic groups, a university instructor, and author of "Playing to Wiin: Nintendo and the Video Game Industry's Greatest Comeback." He is a former president of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan and a current Board Member.

David W. Fingerote’s nearly two decades of experience teaching has allowed him to learn from and provide support to learners of all ages and various levels/backgrounds from many parts of the world. David trains, teaches, mentors, and consults, focusing on various topics related to learning. David aims to meet students where they are in their respective learning journeys. An M.Ed in TESOL coupled with a passion for testing and applying edtech innovations leads to sustainable learning opportunities for all course participants.

As founder and director of Concept Design, Ed Thompson works with multinational clients in Asia-Pacific providing strategic services covering marketing, business and partnership development with a focus on emerging digital technology.

With more than 20 years in Japan, he has built solid experience handling the varied challenges leading multicultural, cross-functional teams at all levels of global organizations, to consistently deliver positive outcomes for corporate initiatives.

He continues to assist both domestic and multi-national corporations in increasing brand awareness through the planning of effective digital and marketing strategies, customer loyalty programs, lead generation campaigns and advertising promotions.

Eric Ritter has a Master's degree from Columbia University in New York in International Affairs and a Bachelors degree in Economics from SUNY-Oswego. He spent over 20 years in business as a financial analyst and lived in Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong before moving to Tokyo in 2013. He specializes in teaching business English in particular effective speaking and writing skills. He has written articles on business for various publications including the Nikkei Asian Review and the Japan Times. In his spare time, he likes to play tennis and listen to jazz.

Flavio has over 25 years of experience working in marketing and hi-tech business areas at global corporations in his native Brazil, Europe and Japan. Working directly and indirectly with brands such as Ambev, Adidas, Panasonic, Warner Music among others during his professional career, he is now an entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Fullcircle Innovation - A digital marketing startup agency based in Tokyo. Fullcircle has a strong presence on the social media space, working with influencers, developing apps as well as state of the art websites communities focused on green-eco-technology-science related issues. Fullcircle has won the Innovation Award in Asia from Red Herring on the year in 2010. Flavio holds a double master degree (e-business and MBA) from the International University of Japan (IUJ), Niigata, Japan.

Gil is an experienced Tokyo-based marketing consultant, professor, and managing director of his own company. He has taught at universities since 1998, when he was a professor at California Polytechnic State University. Since then, he has taught numerous courses at several universities and MBA programs in Japan. He has delivered a variety of interactive, case-based business courses online and has facilitated numerous corporate training sessions for mid- to upper-level managers. Throughout his time as a professor and trainer Gil has gained recognition for his engaging and sincere approach to education and professional development.

Gil’s work experience includes positions at IBM Asia Pacific, Nortel Networks, Hill & Knowlton, and Kyodo PR. In addition, he has advised many global and regional companies as well as ambassadors and embassies. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Kansas, a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College, and has attended executive education programs at Harvard Business School. He is from the United States and speaks Japanese.

Glen Kovar was born in Canada, but spent his formative years in Austria and Czechoslovakia (now Czechia). This exposure to language and culture influenced him to get involved in language education. He has over twenty-five years of experience in this field, and has had the opportunity to work around the world. This includes developing curriculum, instructing, and conducting teaching training in an academic high school in Europe, and working in a technical college in Kazakhstan. His first exposure to Japan was in 1996 where he primarily taught business English and TOEIC in a variety of companies throughout the region. For twelve years he taught current events, TOEIC, TOEFL, academic writing and business at a private language school and at an ELC in Victoria, Canada. He returned to Japan in 2018 where he was an assessment specialist for corporate clients, and then returned to the classroom in 2022 to conduct business English classes and help clients develop communication skills.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Germanic Studies from the University of Victoria (Canada), has certification in TESOL, and has his Masters in TESOL from the University of San Francisco (California). He also has a Photojournalism Diploma from the Western Academy of Photography (Canada).

Helping students acquire language skills and motivating them to reach their goals is something that he is passionate about.

Glenn Davies, originally from New Zealand, has been working in education in Japan since 1997. He holds a B.A. in History from the University of Canterbury and an M.S.Ed. from Temple University Japan Campus. Glenn has extensive experience teaching at private language schools, elementary schools, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), where he taught TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS, Eiken, and business English. His academic interests focus on collaborative learning and test preparation strategies, as reflected in his 2015 publication in The Language Teacher on “Developing Collaborative Learning in the Classroom” and his 2023 article on “Utilizing Collaborative Testing to Better Evaluate Classroom Learning.” Outside of teaching, Glenn enjoys history, Japanese baseball, and travel.

Janet Johnson has lived in Japan for several decades, teaching English conversation at various universities, including Kawamura Women’s University, Toho Music University, Toho Medical University/School of Nursing, and Tokyo Fuji University. Janet was immersed in Gospel music from a young age, singing in church as part of her daily life. While she developed other musical interests over time, her passion for Gospel music has always remained strong. She also developed a keen interest in Country Music, particularly Classic Country and modern Country Rock, after moving to Japan. She spent 20 years as a member of the semi-professional band, Country Stars, which included former professional musicians from Seijo University. During this time, she performed regularly at “Country Night” events at a small club in Ginza. In addition, Janet explored Bluegrass music, closely tied to both Gospel and Country, and often joined open mic sessions and performances with Bluegrass bands.

Joe Swift has been immersed in traditional Okinawan/Japanese martial arts since 1985 and has resided in Japan since 1994. He founded his own martial arts school in Tokyo in 2000, specializing in Okinawan Karate and Ryukyu Kobudo (traditional Okinawan weapons). Swift holds a Nanadan (7th-degree black belt) under the mentorship of Grandmaster Uematsu Yoshiyuki from Mushinkan Dojo. Additionally, he serves as a standing director of the All Japan Ryukyu Kobudo Federation and is a senior advisor to the International Ryukyu Karate Research Society.

John has been instructing an array of business management courses in Continuing Education at Temple University Japan since 2007. He is also an adjunct professor of business management at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). John has had a varied career working as a stockbroker and investment advisor, in information systems and e-commerce management, launching and managing a business with employees, as a project manager with Microsoft and in public relations with Toys 'R' Us Japan. He has written business plans and consulted on business start-ups, and written for several publications and published two books: "Making Conversation" and "Milo, the Closet Monster and the Anti-Monster Society" in support of his Anti-Monster Society. John has a BA in Economics from the University of British Columbia, an MBA from Deakin University, a Certificate (with honors) in Electronic Commerce Management from BCIT and is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Coming from an international photographic background, Karl has lived and worked in London, Paris, Miami and NY. He has worked alongside some of the most creative professionals in the fields of fashion, advertising and branding, including fashion visionary Thierry Mugler on many perfume campaigns for Clairns of Paris. Together with top fashion models, stylists and art directors Karl has traveled the globe and gone on to enjoy creating fine art photography, shooting in remote locations such as northern Mongolia and Iceland. Irish born and with a diploma in photography his camera has never stopped clicking. Now a four year resident of Japan, he documents the culture here in all it's facets.
 

Dr. Hakoda is currently an instructor at Aoba Japan international school. Prior to Aoba, he was a professional conductor of symphony orchestras and musicals, and Professor/teacher for over 20 years in the United States. Dr. Hakoda has directed Musical Theatres and Operas for professional companies as well as community based theater / schools throughout his career. He has over 40 shows in his credits. In addition, Dr.Hakoda is also known for his talent as a composer, with over 20 works to his credit. He has won a number of awards and honors as a composer, including the 1998 Claude T. Smith Phi Beta Mu Composition Contest, the 1996 MMEA Collegiate Composition Contest and a Departmental Distinction at St. Olaf College. Hakoda also received the 2003 Outstanding Young Band Director Award from Kansas Bandmasters Association and was named as the 2014 Kansas Federated Music Club “Composer/ Conductor of the Year.” Recently he produced a CD “This is me!”, for a professional singer, Deris Takagi. The CD includes musical covers and his original songs. Dr. Hakoda holds a Doctor of Education degree from Columbia University, a Master of Music Degree from Wichita State university, and a Bachelor of Music degree from St. Olaf College.

Luiz Olimpio has been practicing yoga since 1999. He has trained in India with the nonprofit Yoga Alliance and holds regular meditation retreats in the Tokyo area and across Japan. He is a mindfulness facilitator for corporate clients to support organizational behavior. He is the founder of Olimpyoga, an executive mindfulness and wellbeing consultancy where motion and meditation are intertwined to promote physical health and enlightenment. Trainings include diversity and cross-culture communication workshops, senior management mindfulness facilitation, and teambuilding facilitation for cross-department synergy.

Maki is an experienced university administrator with 15 years’ experience of academic student services in the bilingual working environment. She currently manages the undergraduate admissions at Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ), and enjoyed teaching of interpreting to non-Japanese undergraduate students at TUJ and teaching business letter writing to adult learners at a Japanese technical college before. She earned a Master of Translation and Interpreting from Macquarie University, Australia, and a Bachelor of Arts in English and American Literature from Tokyo Woman’s Christian University, Japan. Her work philosophy is to face challenges and continue to learn for self-development. Through teaching translation courses, she would like participants to feel how enjoyable translation processes are.

Besides delving in government think tank and management consulting, Dr. Sharma has spent more than 10 years doing macro-economic research and teaching, at premier institutions such as Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Tokyo and London School of Economics. Till April 2012, he worked at the Tokyo headquarter of Daiwa Capital Markets, as Director in the Corporate Finance Department. Thereafter he has delved in full time academics teaching Finance and Economics at some of the renowned business schools in Asia, including Doshisha Business School.

Dr. Sharma runs an investment Advisory. He had worked as a newscaster with NHK World Radio Japan for 13 years and advises a number of alternative investment ventures. In 2006 he co-founded a rural primary education initiative in India. He has published in top-notch academic journals, edited books and newspapers.
He holds a Ph.D. in financial economics.

Masatoshi Hirakata has more than 20 years of leadership experience in various business units' functions and management positions in Asia Pacific and international IT business area. He earned a BA in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Sophia University and an MA in Economics from Temple University Japan. He has been teaching in the Continuation Education program at Temple University for more than 10 years. Recently he started a series of AI and statistics courses using Python and R. He also enjoys Skiing for many years and has recently become interested in Skiing as a lifetime sport and its relationship with preventive medicine. He studied physical conditioning, fitness methodology, and skiing technical reference at Canadian Sport Business Academy. He holds SAJ Skiing class 1 certificate, Canadian Skiing Instructor Association Level 2 certificate, and Avalanche Skill Training 1 certificate from Avalanche Canada.

May May Ho qualified as a Fellow Chartered Accountant ("FCA") under the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) in 2007 after training with Ernst and Young in London. She is a UK and Singapore Chartered Accountant and holds an MSc in International Business from the University of Lancaster, UK. She has experience in financial auditing at Ernst and Young before moving on to regulatory reporting at Merrill Lynch and later the Royal Bank of Scotland. Since 2011 she has embarked on an academic and writing career drawing on her experiences and expertise. Away from work May May enjoys fashion and travelling.

Mete Yasuji is a naturalized Japanese citizen, a trilingual executive coach, and a seasoned business professional with expertise in coaching, teaching, psychology, and techno-futurism. Over his 22-year career as a senior leader in financial services, insurance, IT/software, and legal services, Mete developed a deep understanding of organizational dynamics before transitioning to leadership coaching and training. His current mission is to help companies and leaders achieve sustainable growth.

Mete holds a Doctor of Psychology from California Southern University, an MBA from the International University of Japan, and a Certificate in NGO Management from Temple University. His diverse interests include positive psychology, leadership development, digital well-being, self-leadership, and coaching.

Miho is an England-based opera journalist who has been a member of the Foreign Press Association in London since 2015. She graduated with a BA Hon.in Opera Studies from Manchester University and received her MA from University College of London (UCL) by researching gender issues and Orientalism in Opera. She has contributed articles to and produced feature spreads in both Japanese and English magazines since 2014. For all articles, she makes sure to interview opera singers, directors and instrumentalists for first hand reference. Supporting the development of opera and widening its audience by conveying her joy and knowledge is her passion. She also thoroughly enjoys traveling across the globe to visit different opera houses.

Dr. Nagisa Todoroki obtained her BA from Sophia University, Tokyo and Master and Doctor of Education (M.Ed., Ed.D) degrees in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)/Applied Linguistics from Temple University. She has been working as a professional simultaneous interpreter (SI) and technical translator for over 20 years, and she is also the President of En Clair Inc., a professional conference interpreting and translation agency. She initially started working as an NHK interpreter, NTV satellite simultaneous interpreter, TBS translator, etc. She has also worked for over 300 major private corporations, major international conferences, and various governments. She has also involved in marketing and PR agency assignments for over 20 years and has been taking over 1,000 simultaneous interpreting assignments for media presentations and press conferences to date.

Originally from Toronto (Canada), Paul Kates has over 20 years of diverse professional experience. After the completion of his MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University, he began his career in the Entrepreneurial Services Practice of Ernst & Young, providing accounting, auditing, and consulting services to a wide variety of businesses. He then moved on to management positions for companies operating in both the consumer goods and hospitality sectors, including a Fortune 500 company, where he was engaged primarily in marketing, sales, customer service, and merchandising activities. Paul arrived in Tokyo in 2006 and has spent the majority of his time here as a University Instructor and Corporate Trainer. Among other things, he teaches an assortment of business courses and workshops at TUJ.

Ron Scott has been teaching English in and around Tokyo since arriving in Japan in July 2005. From Canada, Ron obtained both an honours Bachelor's degree in Drama and Psychology from McMaster University and a Master's in Drama Therapy from Concordia University.
An avid traveler, Ron travelled around the world on a cruise ship, running a recreational facility for children. Ron has also been acting and making people laugh since an early age, and is very active in the Tokyo English theatre community.
Due to his interest in acting, and particularly in comedy, Ron is very interested in and specializes in teaching both natural English and how we can use comedy and humor to communicate, connect, and create deeper relationships with others.

Sarah Furuya is trained Relationship Systems Coach ORSC™, certified practitioner in Lumina Spark® and Saville Wave® Psychometrics and holds BSc Hons in Human Psychology and Biology. She has spoken at the HR conferences in Tokyo and Osaka on Leadership and protecting the female HR pipeline, delivered leadership programs in SE Asia and UK, has spoken at the Women's International Networking Conference and was President of FEW Japan 2011-13. She is founder and coach at Sarah Furuya Coaching delivering private and executive coaching and workshops. She is on the Board of Directors of Refugee Empowerment International (REI).

Born in Normandy, France, Sebastien Lemoine visited Japan in 1987 for the first time, as a business student. He fell in love with the surprising moments that never fail to come, when confronting Japanese people and their culture. For family or work purposes, he has travelled back and forth since, made Tokyo his home again in 2008.
In 2013, he put an end to his career as financial markets specialist. He invested time in proper training and research about one of his hobbies, nihonshu. Advanced Sake Professional (certification by the Sake Education Council), he embarked on sharing what he loves about Japanese sake and its culture with visitors and foreign residents. He produces workshops, events and tours, working with high end travel agents and international corporations. Sake consultant, sake teacher at French culinary school Le Cordon Bleu, Sebastien is hosting the Sake On Air first English language podcast about sake and shochu.

www.passerelle-s.com New Tab

http://sakeonair.com New Tab

Sheila Cliffe moved from the UK to Japan in 1985 and is now Professor Emerita at Jumonji Gakuen Women’s University. She earned an M.Ed from Temple University in 1989 and completed her Ph.D. at the University of Leeds in 2013 with a focus on “Revisiting Fashion and Tradition through the Kimono.” Sheila obtained a Grade 3 Kimono Teaching and Dressing License from Suzunoya Kimono Gakuin in 1992 and has since authored four books on kimono, including The Social Life of Kimono (Bloomsbury, 2017) and three style books published in Japan in 2018, 2021, and 2024.

She has presented on kimono culture in the UK, US, Australia, Korea, and Japan. In 2002, the Society for the Preservation of Japan’s National Dress honored her for promoting kimono culture. She served as an ambassador for Tango Textiles from 2019 to 2020. Sheila continues to teach kimono dressing and culture at various universities and has appeared on Japanese television programs like Tetsuko’s Room and NHK Asa no Ichi, along with various NHK World segments. She also regularly writes about kimono for Japan Forward.

Todd Birzer has more than 25 years of experience as a product manager and product management leader at Silicon Valley and West Coast US companies. Todd is the author of Becoming a More Strategic Product Manager, and has an MBA from Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania.

Yishui Fang holds a Master's degree from the Royal College of Art and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Architecture at Waseda University. An accomplished interior designer and architect, Yishui has a rich background in both professional practice and academic research across Japan, the United Kingdom, and China. Her design philosophy champions multidisciplinary collaboration, seamlessly integrating interior design, architecture, engineering, robotics, and intelligent systems. Her academic pursuits are centered on kinetic architecture and creating innovative urban public spaces. Notably, her work has been featured in several international design journals, reflecting her commitment to advancing the field. As an educator, she fosters a creative and collaborative classroom environment, preparing her students to push the boundaries of architectural innovation.

Yoko Haruhara is an art columnist who has extensively written about Asian art for the Japan Times since 1997, focusing on exhibitions of Japanese, Korean and Chinese art and artifacts. Her publications include Artists in The Residence, a special publication of the United States Department of State for the American Embassy in Tokyo.