Success StoriesFish Family Foundation

Narrator: Doing Good, Doing Well is a series of podcasts from the Japan External Trade Organization or JETRO, targeting businesspeople interested in investing in or considering expanding into Japan. JETRO is a governmental organization promoting investment in Japan and business partnerships between Japan and the world.

Today’s society confronts a wide range of problems, including climate change, energy issues and aging populations. Companies and organizations around the world are tackling fresh challenges in an effort to solve these problems.

In this series, we bring you interviews with forerunners at foreign-affiliated companies that have established bases in Japan and are working on solutions.

Today’s theme is Unleashing the Potential of Women in Japan.

A foundation from the United States has arrived, offering programs to foster women leaders in Japan.

What challenge is Fish Family Foundation tackling to create a better future? Let’s find out.

Ayaka Kadotani: Hello, everyone. I'm your navigator Ayaka Kadotani. Today we’re talking to Ms. Kozue Sawame, Director of Japan Program at the Fish Family Foundation. The Boston-based foundation established a representative office in Tokyo in 2019. We’ll talk about a wide range of topics related to the establishment of a base of operations in Japan. Very nice to meet you, Kozue.

Kozue Sawame: Nice to meet you, Ayaka.

Ayaka: I understand that the Fish Family Foundation trains and supports Japanese women in active leadership roles. To start off, would you tell us how it all started?

Kozue: The Fish Family Foundation is a Boston-based private foundation. Through philanthropy, we support undocumented immigrants in Boston and women leaders in Japan. I'm in charge of the foundation's Japan program called the JWLI, the Japanese Women's Leadership Initiative which started back in 2006. Since then, we have focused on women non-profit executives, social entrepreneurs and expanded by launching three other programs, the Champion of Change Japan Award in 2017, JWLI Bootcamp in 2019 and JWLI Scholarship in 2021. Our alumni community now includes 150 women leaders who graduated our programs so far. Here is how it all started. Our founder, Atsuko Fish left Japan in 1980, 42 years ago. Fast forward into 2005, Atsuko returned to Japan accompanying her friend who was giving a talk in Tokyo. Her friend was the president of a global public health organization, and the talk was about women's issues and challenges in Asian countries, for instance, girl's education, reproductive health and access to contraceptives in developing countries in Asia. During the Q&A many many women in the audience raised their hands, which I understand is very rare in Japan and asked the same question, "What about women in Japan? Is there anything you can do for us?" So that's when our founder Atsuko Fish came to the realization that nothing has changed for women in Japan since she had left the country in 1980. As soon as Atsuko returned to Boston, she and two other friends sat down and came up with the concept of JWLI.

Ayaka: I see. Wow, that's quite a story.

Kozue: It is.

Ayaka: So one of the pillars of your work is the JWLI, Japanese Women’s Leadership Initiative program. What do participants learn in this program?

Kozue: What do they learn? That's an important question. So the JWLI is our flagship program started back in 2006. It’s a two year women's leadership program for women non-profit executives and women entrepreneurs for social change in Japan. At the beginning of the two years, four fellows stay in Boston for four weeks, a month. This four-week training is the core of JWLI. And through the four weeks, the fellows gain confidence to lead, acquire knowledge and experience to manage and develop their action plan for social change. In Boston, they visit non-profits and social entrepreneurs to learn best practices. We also partner with Babson College, the college in Boston that has ranked number one in the study of entrepreneurship among all colleges and universities in the US.

Ayaka: Oh wow.

Kozue: Our fellows participate in Babson's program, a very prestigious five-day women's leadership program and on top of these, the fellows develop their action plan to present twice in Boston and to be executed in Japan with a mentor. So as I said, the four weeks in Boston are the core of the program and we create this world, almost like a cocoon away from their daily lives, responsibilities and expectations. So this is the world where they can focus on only themselves and what they want to do. So the fellows spend these 4 weeks constantly asking themselves what it is that they want to do, what their contribution to society is and what their callings maybe. So these four weeks are crucial as these women leaders never ever have a moment like this.

Ayaka: Right.

Kozue: And through the four weeks, JWLI becomes their source of confidence. I want the fellows to think like this: "Because I survived Boston, I can do anything, and I can overcome any challenge after this." So when I think about JWLI, I think about how my parents taught me how to ski. On my very first skies at my feet, they brought me to the top of a mountain and pushed me. They literally pushed me from the top of a mountain, I fell and I rolled but I managed to bring myself down to the bottom of the mountain and I was a bit less scared and more confident. That's what we're trying to do. JWLI may be a hard, long, tough program but we believe if you survived this program, you can and will survive any challenge after that. You may fall and roll like I did, but it’s okay. It's okay to fall but it’s not okay not to try. We talk a lot about failure so that we can build a strong immune system against it. Failure is okay and it’s good because it’s a chance to learn and grow.

Ayaka: Right. Well it's kind of interesting that how you compare it to survival. It sounds like a really tough program, but I'm really interested.

Kozue: Good. I'm glad.

Ayaka: Yeah, so how would you compare the strengths and characteristics of the JWLI program with the efforts of other companies, organizations and so on?

Kozue: I think about two of our strengths for this question: our philosophy and our alumni community. Our philosophy is open, positive, and inclusive, and our alumni community is based on this philosophy. With four programs graduating about 30 women leaders every year, our alumni community grew to include 150 graduates. These 150 women are mainly non-profit executives and social entrepreneurs but also some from the private and government sectors as well. So it's an extremely diverse group of women ranging from 30 to 80 years old.

Ayaka: Wow.

Kozue: Located all over Japan from Hokkaido all the way to Okinawa. And we now call this community the JWLI Ecosystem because it's much more than a community. It's an ecosystem with highly engaged members sharing their ideas, exchanging resources and collaboration. With our philosophy of open, positive, inclusive, this ecosystem is exactly that. With a lifelong connection and where these women leaders feel safe and support. And we do this for these women leaders, and we invest so much in them, financially and non-financially, and with our founders of the foundation being a banker for his entire career, we also ask for return of our investment as well. Our philosophy of our foundation is that in any situation in any circumstances, even for philanthropic reasons, we should ask and expect for return of investment. And when it comes to JWLI, and for these women leaders, what we expect as our return of investment is social change. These women are working, addressing issues most oppressing in their communities and to help solve these issues is their social change. So what we ask and expect as our return of investment is social change led by these women leaders all over Japan.

Ayaka: Wow, that's so impressive and you're so purpose-driven. I love it.

Kozue: Great.

Ayaka: How would you describe the environment for women in the Japanese society today?

Kozue: That's a very good question and it’s a hard one. We have come a long way. In 2005 when our founder Atsuko Fish first approached a number of organizations in Japan with a concept of JWLI for partnership, she was stared at like she had three heads. No one paid attention to women's empowerment, and women's leadership back then. But look at me now. I'm sitting here, being interviewed by JETRO. And also, Atsuko and our program were featured on one of the largest newspapers on their front page a few months ago. Internally looking at the progress within the country, we have come a long way. But there is still much to be done. And Japan's progress is slow, I think. We're severely afraid of failure and we're reluctant to do anything new. As a society, not just for only women, but also men and others like those with disabilities, immigrants and refugees and LGBTQ individuals, Japan's society needs to be more open and inclusive. And the flip side of high fear for failure and low representation by women means that this is an opportunity for women, but also for others as well. But especially women must act and try. Women must act and try. Women in Japan are highly educated and talented and they must unleash their potentials. What's worst is not to try at all. You will never ever know until you try. And remember, failure is good and it is a chance to learn and grow.

Ayaka: I totally agree. So tell us about some of the positive impacts there will be for the Japanese society when more women become active leaders?

Kozue: One of the positive impacts, I think, is diversity. And I think the country needs it desperately. Any country, any company, any organization that lacks diversity will be stale in its thinking and imagination. They will eventually stagger in its motion and activity. Diversity is the key to Japan. And I don't mean it just women, but also including others like those with disabilities, immigrants and refugees and LGBTQ individuals and so on. And also, Japan is facing a labor shortage. So why not tap into women? Like I said before, women in Japan are highly educated and talented and experienced. So why not use their talents instead of wasting them? So I think these are the positive impacts that women leaders and women can bring into Japan.

Ayaka: That is so true, absolutely. So you’ve been operating out of your foundation’s headquarters in Boston since 2006. What led to your decision to establish a representative office in Tokyo in 2019?

Kozue: So I'm excited to talk about this because JWLI has been expanding significantly in the last several years, starting with CCJA (Champions of Change Japan Award) in 2017 and the JWLI Bootcamp in 2019. With the JWLI program held in Boston in English, we've been asked so many times for the last several years for a program to be held in Japan in Japanese. Also, as JWLI expanded, our alumni community grew, and our presence increased as well. So we needed a permanent presence in Japan instead of our founder and myself flying to Japan a few times a year for short stays. We wanted to seize the opportunity and leverage the momentum. So we now have an amazing representative, Yuki Kusano, based in Tokyo, and our alumni community's more engaged, thanks to her. And JF’s CCJA is celebrating its 6th year this year, and after two years of hiatus, we've finally brought the JWLI Bootcamp back this year in person, so I cannot be happier that we opened the Tokyo office.

Ayaka: That's fantastic. Congratulations.

Kozue: Thank you.

Ayaka: So what challenges did you face in setting up your base of operations in Japan?

Kozue: Good question. I've been in the US for the last 18 years and I'm pretty much American at this point. And I'm completely lost when it comes to Japanese business customs or tax law or labor law, so it was extremely challenging to open an office all the way from Boston without anyone on the ground in Japan. It was just pretty much myself. But that's where JETRO came in. Thankfully for me, I was introduced to a JETRO representative in New York, who then connected me to JETRO Japan. Their support was invaluable. Without it, I don't think I was able to open an office so quickly in several months. JETRO has a wide range of resources and connections in Japan and that's what we got for free. Everything was free, from multiple consultations with experts like an accountant and labor lawyer, introduction to banks to open bank accounts which can be impossible for anyone outside Japan and also office space. We received all of these help for free. And these introductions by JETRO to experts and banks were crucial and those opened a lot of doors for me and for us. What I want to thank most is also the support I received from my point person. I actually had two of them, and both of them were culturally sensitive, knowledgeable, flexible and accommodating and most importantly, reliable.

Ayaka: Wow, that's so impressive.

Kozue: Yeah.

Ayaka: JETRO is your life-saver.

Kozue: Exactly, we got very lucky.

Ayaka: Yeah. So it is now three years since you established your Japanese base. How has female leader's position changed in Japanese society during that time?

Kozue: I continue to be hopeful for the advancement of women leaders in Japan. The past 3 years have been tough for women in the pandemic. For instance, many women leaders in our community are non-profit executives and social entrepreneurs, and in the wake of Covid, many issues have become more evident. Like single mother's poverty, food insecurity and social isolation among the elderly. And our community members, women leaders were addressing those. And as a testament, CCJA, one of our programs has received 203 applications last year, which was the record-breaking number. And I think that this means more needs for women leaders. We also started the JWLI Scholarship last year, a program that offers full tuition and live-in stipend for Japan based immigrants and refugee women for equal access to higher education. This is an encouraging sign of Japan becoming more diverse. These are amazing young women, they are fluent in Japanese, academically and creatively talented and most importantly, multi-lingual and multi-cultural. Another area that we focus on is women's leadership in rural Japan. I myself was born and raised in a small town in Hokkaido, so I know how difficult and isolating and frustrating at times it can be as women. Women are pillars in our community in rural Japan and their strong leadership is crucial. Our JWLI Bootcamp is a 3-day training for women leaders in rural Japan and instills the essence of our Boston training in 3 short days in Japanese in Japan. We have done 4 Bootcamps so far in Nagoya, Ishinomaki, Osaka and Tokushima and for each location, we've received 20 to 30 applications for 10 seats. As I said about CCJA, women leaders are in all over Japan from Hokkaido to Ishigaki and they are making a difference. So like I said before, there’s so much to be done and the progress is frustratingly slow. But I continue to be hopeful for women’s leadership in Japan.

Ayaka: But that’s so impressive and it seems like the future is bright for us.

Kozue: I hope so. Keeping fingers crossed.

Ayaka: Yeah. Finally, can you share any advice for female leaders overseas who are considering setting up their business in Japan?

Kozue: Yes, of course. As you know, Japan is an amazing country with so much potential. As much as I focus on women in Japan, I want you, yes, I’m talking to you, women outside Japan. I want you to enter Japan with your businesses and organizations and get help from JETRO. They are the best. You will be role models for Japanese women, break gender-based barriers and preconceptions and most importantly, you are the very diversity the country needs.

Ayaka: Exactly. Thank you so much Kozue. That's been so inspiring.

Kozue: Thank you, Ayaka and thank you JETRO for the opportunity. This has been amazing for me as well.

Narrator: The Fish Family Foundation broadens horizons for Japanese women. What did you think of the story of its entry into Japan?

We hope today’s episode provided you with some inspiration on how to seize the business opportunities available in Japan.

To learn more detailed information on entering the Japanese market or collaborating with Japanese companies, be sure to visit the JETRO website and our social media pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

In future installments of Doing Good, Doing Well, we’ll continue to bring you interviews with key people in a wide variety of companies. Thank you for listening and see you in our next episode!