This series explores topics surrounding women who began their careers in Japan following the implementation of equal opportunity labor law in the mid-1980s. As many reach retirement age, we hope their stories can provide insight and lessons for women in Japan’s professional world today.
In the modern professional world, there is an endless array of career choices: which industry to work in, which company (or whether to start one), which location, which position – the list goes on. We may open a door full of hope, only to close it again after a few years with a sigh. This soul-searching can continue late into our lives – even in Japan, where lifelong employment is now an almost arcane concept.
For the chosen ones, however, the choice does not exist from the beginning. There is in fact only one door, with a neon sign saying ‘Enter’. The driving force could be innate – you have a special talent for something – or it could be that you were born into a family business and never question that destiny. In the latter case, your success depends on the level of your emotional and intellectual alignment with the company.
