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This year's World Economic Forum, or the Davos Forum, attracted much media attention in Japan thanks to the presence of a young Japanese female lawyer, Mitsuru Claire Chino.
U.S. educated and trained, Chino, 37, is a legal counsel at Itochu Corporation, a major Japanese trading house, where she has established a reputation for skillful international negotiation. Earlier this year she was invited to Davos as one of 100 "Young Global Leaders for Tomorrow". Her presence probably gave a moral boost to thousands of other talented working women in Japan, and Chino herself found the Forum such a stimulating and inspiring experience that she has since taken active interest in women's issues in Japan.
Soon after she returned from Davos, Chino e-mailed to Uichiro Niwa, Itochu's president, with a proposal for a greater utilization of female talents in the company. Niwa, a known liberal, immediately approved the idea and now Chino is a member of an in-house HR diversification committee. Subsequently, the president announced a 10-year goal to have half of the company's board of directors comprise women and foreigners. "(Niwa's) commitment is vital but policy implementation in the end is what counts and that's the hardest part," says Chino.
For Chino's female colleagues, inadequate childcare and nursing care for elderly parents or in-laws top the list of stumbling blocks to career advancement, surpassing lack of opportunities in the workplace. Consequently, these social problems are what Chino is now looking into. "It would be great if we could bring in outside experts to our committee as advisors, but that would be difficult in Japan" she says.
What strikes one most about Chino upon meeting her are her polished manners and language of a Japanese corporate executive, which completely belie the intellect and perception - and the command of English - of an educated American. This is a rare combination that should be a major asset to any Japanese corporation with global business interests.
Born in the Netherlands, Chino learnt first English while living in the UK where her father, a Honda Motor Co's executive, was posted. At four, upon moving to Japan, she faced her first - and she says the only - cultural shock of her life. "I couldn't give directions in Japanese to the kindergarten bus driver so it took a long time getting home," she recalls, the memory still fresh in her mind. Her strict grandparents saw to it that she picked up Japanese and assimilated to her homeland speedily - and her life continued in a traditional Japanese environment, until she was 14, when her father was transferred to the U.S., near Los Angeles.
This time she had to re-learn English from scratch, but she was strongly motivated by an urge to speak out against "Japan bashing" to her American high school friends in the '80s. "I really worked hard to get my English up to speed," she remembers. She took public speaking classes at school and participated in inter-school debating competitions so that she would develop strong enough debating skills to argue successfully against unfair criticism of Japan and its economic success.
She dismisses as myth the notion that Japanese are weak at logical thinking. "The Japanese have their own kind of logic," she explains. "It's different from Western logic." In any case, Chino holds the view that Western logical thinking and debating skills can be developed through training - as she has done.
Her first degree was in Government Studies from Smith College. She then went on to study law at Cornell University, though initially she had no intention of becoming a lawyer. However, once she chose her career path and passed qualifying exams, she made a beeline for a law firm with a Tokyo office so she could eventually pursue her career in Japan. Graham & James LLP was her choice and Itochu would become one of her clients. Three years ago, after a one-year secondment to the trading house, she left the firm to work for her client full time.
"My parents were pleased about my decision to join a Japanese company," says Chino, dressed in a navy suit and crisp white shirt with her hair pulled at the back, looking every inch a model corporate lawyer. She wanted stability and teamwork. Her parents immediately understood. Chino is well aware of cut-throat competition in the corporate world in the U.S., where there is virtually no job security even in the legal profession. "If your client goes bankrupt, you could be made redundant very quickly," she says.
Chino has no illusion about the "Land of Freedom and Equality." With her impeccable credentials, many in her position would have made her home in the U.S., where the standard of living is much higher and career opportunities are greater, especially for women. "I didn't want to become an American," at the expense of giving up her Japanese nationality, she says. The U.S. society has its unique insularity and insensitivity to other cultures that jarred her.
Besides, she sensed her skill sets could be more effectively utilized in Japan, where she might make a difference in society. The Davos exposure, then, could be the platform she has long been waiting for. She is also happy that she found her role model in Sadako Ogata, the former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, who made a strong impression on Davos audiences with her "quiet confidence" and clarity of speech, Chino says.
But she was disappointed that few Japanese delegates came anywhere close to Ogata in interacting with high-profile delegates from around the world including Bill Clinton and CEOs of blue-chip multinationals.
"First and foremost, I would like to encourage more Japanese people to come to the Forum because very few (who are invited) do," says Chino. "Often Japanese businessmen are self-deprecating about their ability to get their points across in English, but without even attending these conferences, they are not giving themselves a chance to develop communication skills," she concludes, then adds: "Just listening to other participants present their cases, I learnt a great deal. And many also ask questions in such a skillful way," she says.
"Of course Davos is U.S.-Eurocentric," she continues, adding that, it is symbolic that Japan was missing from the world map that was the motif of conference- room wallpaper. Naturally she immediately pointed out this shocking omission to the organizers. "Davos may not be the best or the ideal forum in the world, but it is still important to participate." And that's the first step to making Japanese voices heard, she insists.
Chino is a part-time lecturer at Temple Law School's Tokyo campus, where she teaches law students the differences between Eastern and Western negotiating styles. Meanwhile, her class creates another opportunity for honing her debating skills. "American students love to talk, so we often have lively discussions," she says.
In the past Chino was narrowly focused on excelling in her own profession. But Davos has given her confidence to rise to new challenges beyond the scope of the legal profession, she says. Yet, she makes no secret of the fact that she updates her CV every month and stays in touch with headhunters in order to keep all options open. "I was once asked what a job meant to me. So I said empowerment. And that's precisely what it is for me", she concludes, with the assuredness of a "Young Global Leader for Tomorrow".
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