My Job at Mizuho Leasing

Morning rush hour in Tokyo

As I mentioned in previous posts, I'm currently working in Tokyo for a company called Mizuho Leasing. Mizuho Leasing provides financing for a range of products, including industrial machinery, medical equipment, ships, and airplanes. Our customers (the lessees) lease the products for a set period of time, after which they often have the option to purchase them outright.

I won't get into the nuts and bolts of financial leasing, partly because I'm no expert myself, and also because that's not what I do day to day. I work--well, technically intern--in the International Department, which oversees our company's affiliated offices in China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Many of the two dozen or so employees in our department speak English well and some have worked internationally, but I am the only non-Japanese employee.
(left: view from our 13th floor cafeteria)

Posing at my desk with my
protective equipment before
our annual evacuation drill

One of my main functions is a native English resource for the Department and the company at large. If someone needs an important document proofed--say an email correspondence with our partner in Manila, or a draft of the CEO's speech to a group of foreign investors--then they turn to me. Even those co-workers who can speak English well still aren't fluent, so I'm there to help with editing. Back in the fall, the company published a short book to commemorate its 50 year history, and I helped out with the English version, basically translating the translator's Japanese-style English to a more professional business English.

I also use put my English to use by teaching my coworkers. Although I went to grad school to get away from the ESL world, it's hard to shake off completely. I teach four classes a week--Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 8 am, and a Wednesday lunch class. Before I came to Tokyo, I wasn't looking forward to the classes, but aside from the early start (I otherwise start at 9), I grew to like them. Each class only has five students, and often some can't attend due to scheduling conflicts, so I have a lot of time to get to know each student individually. The classes are a nice break from the monotony of office work, and I get paid extra for them as well.

My schedule is often uneventful; aside from the classes and our weekly department meeting, I spend all of my time at my desk. Sometimes I have research projects to work on, if my mentor or a manager asks me to look into a particular industry or company that Mizuho Leasing has flagged for possible expansion. I also spend a good chunk of time preparing presentations, which I give to the department every other week. My presentations are 30 minutes and cover recent news from both the global economy and the countries in Asia where we have offices.

I enjoy presenting, so that aspect of the job is rewarding to me. I do wonder how much everyone absorbs, however; some of my coworkers speak English well, but not all. Our department head, who suggested the presentations in the first place, seems to enjoy them and asks a lot of questions, so I guess that's the most important part!

Some of my coworkers are a bit shy about speaking English, but they are all
nice. One of them brought these back from a  trip for everyone in the office.
Omiyage--basically edible souvenirs--are a common gift to give your coworkers
when you return from a business trip or vacation. I liked this design
cause you could be mistaken for thinking they are another kind of edible!

Many days I am left to my own devices and spend a few hours reading current events online and updates on our Bloomberg terminal, ostensibly for presentation material. When I can be bothered I also study Japanese, although my progress has been slow. I'm certainly not overworked; if anything, I'd prefer more. My lack of Japanese limits how much I can do with other departments, since few outside our group speak English well.

On my lunch break back in the fall; on days when I have a light
workload (often), I take another break in the afternoon to walk outside

I also enjoy exploring the office, which has some gems like this cassette player...

...an this type writer. It's funny how Japan is known as a high tech
country, but it still has lots of old school gadgetry.

Now that we are working remotely, I have even less to do (hence the blog updates!). In lieu of in-person presentations, I've decided to write a weekly update on the global economy and news from Southeast Asia. I'll be stuck at home for at least three more weeks, so keep an eye out for more; I plan to do another post on covid-19 in Japan, as well as more about my life in Tokyo.