Q&A with TOMODACHI Program Participants and TOMODACHI Alumni: Yuya Okada

For this interview, we talked with Yuya Okada, an alumnus of the 2020 Building the TOMODACHI Generation: Morgan Stanley Ambassadors Program, a two week program involving cross-collaboration with Japanese and American students focusing on leadership, cross cultural exchange, and social challenges. Yuya is pursuing a career in the field of law, and will begin a new job with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in April. He has also been helping support the U.S.-Japan Council Business Advisory Board, and aims to continue to connect and stay in touch with the many government officials and corporate executives who support TOMODACHI and the U.S.-Japan Council.

Q1: What led you to pursue law?

That’s actually a tough question for me, because I changed my mind. In the first place, I wanted to become a corporate lawyer or corporate attorney. But when I joined the summer clerkship at two major Japanese law firms based in Tokyo, I experienced some meaningful jobs at the firms, but I also realized the importance of the government and policy. So I changed my mind to pursue my career in the bureaucracy.

Q2: So you always wanted to pursue law since you were younger?

Actually not. When I was ten years old, I first had my dream of becoming a diplomat. But when I learned more about diplomats, I thought that what I want to do is more like negotiations, and becoming a diplomat ought to be a fascinating job, to be someone engaging in negotiations, but being a corporate lawyer could be more like a valuable choice for me. Because being a diplomat would mean working in government official things. There are some red tapes in the Japanese government, and if I want to join the negotiation process, then I would need to work for over 10 years in the government. When I heard about it from the senior and retired diplomats who I met when I was a college student, I then changed my mind to be a corporate lawyer.

Q3: What was it like during the 2020 Building the TOMODACHI Generation: Morgan Stanley Ambassadors Program? Can you share a little bit about your experience there?

I joined the program in 2020, during the very beginning of the Covid pandemic. I went to Washington D.C. to join the program, and it was about the civil society of the United States. I learned a lot from the government officials. There were people who were working for D.C. based NPOs, NGOs, and other civil society entities. I also learned about the businesses, corporations, and other private entities who are engaging in the civil society activities and also Corporate Social Responsibility things.

Q4: Was there any specific interest that you had within this program?

Yes, there were a lot of interesting topics for me, but especially the women’s issue, for example. One of my friends joined that working group of sex education. It was so interesting to me, because before I joined the program I had no interest in that kind of thing, but I’m still learning from my friends, and also from the other lectures at the program. I realized the importance of the issue of women’s rights. I also personally learned the importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance investment, which are factors that investors measure when analyzing a company’s sustainability efforts from a holistic view. Before I joined the program, I felt that corporations are always seeking profits, like social goods, but I learned that there are some paradigm shifts from the past. Because ESG investment is not only a good thing, but it is becoming mandatory for all the corporations and businesses in the market! That’s one of my take-aways from that program.

Q5: Did any of the experiences there impact your interest or career?

Yes actually. The program did impact me because I learned the importance of law, because the ESG investment is administered by laws and regulations, and I also learned about women’s issues. For example, abortion and other educational things are also administered by law. But if there’s no law regulating those things, or social issues, then those issues would be exacerbated. But if there’s necessary laws and regulations, then the situation would be better. By learning these things, I made up my mind to go to law school. In addition to that, I learned about the importance of policy-making. Law is not made by just someone from above, but rather is made by the policy of which the bureaucrats are making, and bureaucrats can change. I also learned that policy and law are correlated. Laws are tools of policy and policy has will to the society. I’m not sure if this is an extreme view, but I must say this, that policy is like an owner, and law is like a subordinate. If there’s no policy, then there’s no law. But if there’s policy, then there must be some kind of law or regulation. So I learned about the relationship between laws and policies from the program, that our policies are made from social issues. When there are no social issues, there are going to be no policies, and accordingly there would be no law. So social issues are like mothers of policies, and there are mothers of laws. At the time when I was joining the program, I thought that being a lawyer would be the best choice for me because the law is the most important part of monitoring social affairs, but when looking back at my memories during that program, I think that the policy making process is the most important part of solving social issues. And I unintentionally learned that from their speakers and also other fellow students. It changed my life to pursue a public sector career.

Q6: You’ve been helping with the Business Advisory Board for the last few months. What has that been like?

The Business Advisory Board is the summit of TOMODACHI, and is also the intersection of people who are key to our social challenges. I learned a lot from the people who I met at BAB and I am continuing to stay in touch with them. The TOMODACHI program which I joined in 2020 has given me true friendship with the other fellow students, who I’m still in touch with. When we are all available, we have dinner sessions and like to exchange our views on the current social policies, and also our status in our careers.

Q7: This is with the Building the TOMODACHI Generation: Morgan Stanley Ambassadors Program?

Yes, it was the first time for me to join the BAB as a TOMODACHI alumni. Through this, I learned the importance of joining BAB, and I requested Tanaka-san, the president of BAB, to allow me to regularly help out with the BAB sessions. The TOMODACHI office said yes, and so I joined in helping the BAB. Joining has been a real learning opportunity for me, to learn about new things, and about what I am studying now.

Q8: What is your role within the Business Advisory Board?

My role includes things like taking photos and also regular reception. BAB is the Business Advisory Board. It is the meeting of supporters of TOMODACHI and the U.S.-Japan Council, and there are many corporate executives and government officials. BAB happens periodically, about once every three or four months. We listen to keynote speakers, who are really great people. For example, the last time we welcomed the director or executive at the Financial Services Agency of Japan, we learned about the role of asset management companies and the paradigm shift from the past to the present, and to the future. Because in Japan, there would be less pension rate in the future, because there are so many elderly people, there would also be a shortage of labor and working people. The executive said that the importance of asset management is growing, and accordingly, the asset management companies are changing. The industry would be a good starting point for Japan’s investment style and attitude, as well as people’s attitude towards investment.

Q9: What does TOMODACHI mean to you?

I can’t say one word to express that, but if I chose one word for it, it would be opportunity.

Q10: Do you have any advice for the next generation, including those who are interested in studying in law?

In just 3 words, I can tell you my advice. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be scared. Because people are sometimes scared about the future and about their lives. But just take risks and jump into the uncomfortable zones. It is very tough for me, because I think I’m still some sort of an introverted person who doesn’t like taking risks, but life is only one chance, and we have only one life, so do whatever you want to pursue. The most memorable words from my TOMODACHI program are from the Corporate Executive of Softbank group. He is based in Washington, and is managing the government relations with the U.S. on their businesses in the states and in Japan. He said, “use every minute”. It’s only three words, but I realized the importance of time. Time is limited. Everyone has a limited time to live. One person can live for 100 years, at maximum, and most people only have 80 or 90 years to live. It’s really short. We need to think about the limitations, and should realize there is no time to be afraid. There’s no time to be scared of the future and new things. Many people do not realize it because of the busy lives they live. I think we need to know about it, and to add to it, I think that following your heart would be the most important. Each person has their own mission. So listening to our heart and mind is really important. Because if we pursue only money and earn a bunch of it, we can build a big house and do whatever we want, but that would be a sad life. It really depends on each person, but for me, the most important part of life would be contributing to our country, community, society, and our futures.

This interview was conducted by Aika May Talavera on September 21st, 2023. Aika is currently our current TOMODACHI Senior Alumni Program Intern and is an Alumni of the TOMODACHI MetLife Women’s Leadership Program 2019-2020.
This interview was edited by Hannah Fulton, TOMODACHI Alumni Program Intern and an Alumni of the TOMODACHI Toshizo Watanabe Leadership Program 2022-2023, and transcribed by Aya Kaneko, TOMODACHI Alumni Intern.