Mao Hotta's career path reads like a masterclass in strategic exploration. Born and raised in Tokyo, she studied journalism at Keio University, worked as an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs, and is now pursuing a dual MBA at Kyoto University and Master of Management in Hospitality at Cornell. Her ultimate goal? Opening her own hotel in rural Japan. We sat down with Mao to learn how she's been building her dream one unconventional step at a time. ---Tell us about yo

Aryan Khurana is a business student at Western University's Ivey Business School in Toronto, Canada. Despite speaking zero Japanese and having no Tokyo connections, he landed a role leading international expansion at a fast-growing startup through systematic cold outreach. He's now supporting a matcha export business connecting Japanese farmers with North American consumers. What you'll learn in this article: Why async communication beats scheduled calls across time zones How

Aryan Khurana is a business student at Western University's Ivey Business School in Toronto, Canada. Despite speaking zero Japanese and having no Tokyo connections, he landed a role leading international expansion at a fast-growing startup through systematic cold outreach. He's now supporting a matcha export business connecting Japanese farmers with North American consumers. What you'll learn in this article: How to systematically find and land startup roles in foreign countr

Aryan Khurana is a business student at Western University's Ivey Business School in Toronto, Canada. Despite speaking zero Japanese and having no Tokyo connections, he landed a role leading international expansion at a fast-growing startup through systematic cold outreach. He's now supporting a matcha export business connecting Japanese farmers with North American consumers. What you'll learn in this article: The specific signals that reveal true startup culture when you lack

Born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Nathan Paterson has built an adventurous and innovation-forward career in Japan. After working as a designer in London, he came to Tokyo as an English teacher with basic textbook Japanese — then worked his way through a variety of traditional and progressive companies and founded his own companies. He spent nearly 10 years at Disney across Tokyo and Los Angeles, where he led research and design of digital platforms including the precu

Born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Nathan Paterson has built an adventurous and innovation-forward career in Japan. After working as a designer in London, he came to Tokyo as an English teacher with basic textbook Japanese — then worked his way through a variety of traditional and progressive companies and founded his own companies. He spent nearly 10 years at Disney across Tokyo and Los Angeles, where he led research and design of digital platforms including the precu

Born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Nathan Paterson has built an adventurous and innovation-forward career in Japan. After working as a designer in London, he came to Tokyo as an English teacher with basic textbook Japanese — then worked his way through a variety of traditional and progressive companies and founded his own companies. He spent nearly 10 years at Disney across Tokyo and Los Angeles, where he led research and design of digital platforms including the precu

Are you a student or young professional curious about launching a software career in Japan? Our interview with Christian Williams , an MIT graduate who has spent nearly two years in Japan and now works at fintech startup Jamm , explores how he found his role, what work looks like day to day, visa pathways (from J-Find to HSP), and practical advice for building a fulfilling career in Japan. Jamm Inc.   —— Can you share a bit about yourself and your background? Christian : My n