Leadership with Passion through Kokorozashi
The key ingredient to success? Passion.
Finding your kokorozashi will unify your passions and skills to create positive change in society. This GLOBIS Unlimited course will help you develop the values and lifelong goals you need to become a strong, passion-driven leader.
Technovate Thinking
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On Monday, March 4, 2024, Yui Ohtsuki, the Representative Director of FinT Corporation, spoke at a GLOBIS Technovate study session about her career, passion, and the power that younger generations hold to transform the modern workplace.
Technovate Thinking
Business leaders of tomorrow need to harness the power of technology and innovation. That means understanding algorithms and how they drive business results. Discover opportunities to make technology work for your competitive edge.
Ohtsuki started her company in 2017 while attending Waseda University’s entrepreneurship training course. FinT is a social media marketing firm with a mission to “leverage everyone’s strengths to make Japan and the world a more positive place.”
The firm has supported more than 200 companies in everything from the planning and filming of advertising content to daily operations. In May of 2023, FinT expanded operations into Vietnam.
Ohtsuki was selected as a member of the ASEAN Japan Generation Z Leaders Community and is listed in Forbes as a young entrepreneur aiming for the ASEAN region.
Insights staff had the opportunity to chat with the young director to learn more about the story behind the corporation. Below is an excerpt from our interview.
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GLOBIS Staff: The GLOBIS community really values the concept of kokorozashi, our personal mission. What is your kokorozashi and how does that affect what you do?
Leadership with Passion through Kokorozashi
The key ingredient to success? Passion.
Finding your kokorozashi will unify your passions and skills to create positive change in society. This GLOBIS Unlimited course will help you develop the values and lifelong goals you need to become a strong, passion-driven leader.
Yui Ohtsuki: My grandparents’ and parents’ generation rebuilt Japanese society after World War II. They rallied around a common goal and managed to create a thriving, wealthy nation from nothing.
Because of their efforts, I have the freedom to do what I want to do, eat what I want to eat, and make an impact on society, even though I don’t come from a particularly special family. I feel like a lot of younger people aren’t taking full advantage of the opportunities they have, which is causing Japan to stagnate.
When I look at the efforts of the previous generation, I feel a sense of pride. I want the next generation to look at me with that same sense of pride and know that I left Japan a better place than I found it, just like the generations before me.
GLOBIS Staff: Japan is currently ranked 125/146 countries according to the global gender gap index. What do you think needs to change to better support women’s career opportunities within the nation?
Ohtsuki: I think that in Japan, there are issues regarding whether women can work and have financial independence.
I do a lot of work in Vietnam. In most countries, women make up about 40% of the workforce. I think that’s accurate for Japan too.
But in Vietnam, women actually make up about 70% of the workforce. They’re the majority.
In addition to celebrating International Women’s Day, they also celebrate Vietnamese Women’s Day in October. A Japanese male member of our staff moved to Vietnam last May, and his senior taught him the importance of remembering to bring flowers for Women’s Day.
I think there is a huge gap between places like Vietnam and Japan in terms of the number of women in the workplace and the cultural significance placed on recognizing their work.
GLOBIS Staff: Does FinT do anything special for International Women’s Day?
Ohtsuki: No, we haven’t done anything in the past. But as a woman entrepreneur, I want to see more and more women playing an active role in the world. When I went to Vietnam last year, I realized how different it is there—that’s what I like about International Women’s Day.
I still feel a little hesitant to communicate about women’s issues, but on the other hand, I think that there are opportunities for me to challenge myself and communicate with others because I am a woman.
I think that there are places where I can seize the opportunity to communicate because there are few women in those spaces. I want to create a society in which women can play more active roles.
I see no reason why what is so common in Vietnam cannot be done in Japan, too.
GLOBIS Staff: How does Gen Z feel about traditional gender roles in Japan?
Ohtsuki: I think diversity is the key word. Being a man or a woman is just one of many of a person’s characteristics. When I speak to people in Gen Z, nobody says “You should do this because you’re a woman,” or “this is something only men should do.” People see gender as just one aspect of a person, and I think that makes for a more accepting culture where we can communicate with one another more holistically.
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