“Travel time to New York will be shortened to 40 minutes.”
A thirteen-hour flight from Tokyo to New York could be less than an hour through space travel? … such a magical thought …
The university space start-up was looking for a human translator to check their machine-translated documents. The year was 2021 and I was itching to re-enter the workforce. After a fifteen-year hiatus since my mid-twenties, my return to Tokyo was similar to the Urashima Taro folktale ー I was disoriented, disconnected, and much older. In addition, I had stayed at home for a year or two to spend time with my children after moving back, so I was ready to appreciate any workplace that would embrace me.
Thus began my days in a very unfamiliar industry paired with a drastic career change. All of my past experience was put to use. I was contracted for a small role as a website translator, however as the space start-up frenetically charged forward and staff rotated out, I was tasked with anything related to English and publicity, from social media posts to press releases, events coordination, international conferences, government relations, and the recruitment of dozens of staff. I progressed from contractor to part-time to full-time employee. Five years later, I feel fortunate to be in the industry, as the space economy records exponential growth, nearly doubling its size to $US570 billion in 2023, compared to a decade ago. (Space Foundation Editorial Team, 2024)
My childhood was comfortable. My parents ensured a multilingual education for my older brother and me. We both attended private schools and I followed my brother to a national college, but then yearned for an independent identity. In 2002, soon after my husband moved to Washington D.C. for his MBA studies, I moved to New York City for an interior design degree. I enjoyed it immensely. After training at a couple of small companies, I eventually opened my own small sustainable kitchen cabinetry and renovation business. With the purchase of a small house, our American dream life with two young children was bliss.
In 2017, my father collapsed and my husband arrived at a fork in his career. It was time to go home, so we packed up our house and buried our cat who decided to depart just as we were preparing to cross the sea once more.
“There are women like you. You will feel at home.”
I was feeling awkward, as many people might feel after a long time overseas. I met Jane Grimes at my children’s school, a vivant and charismatic friend, and former CWAJ President. One day, she invited me to a General Meeting with a fellow parent. The lecture about art was interesting and the women at my table at TAC were friendly, with a sense of humour. In 2020, I joined the volunteering sisterhood at CWAJ.
The multi-generational and international community at CWAJ is a very comfortable place indeed. I hope to spend more time over tea and lunch to hear the life stories of so many more CWAJ members as we volunteer together. I also hope to contribute as much as I have been given, either through friendly advice or simply friendship. On the other hand, as my workplace evolves and more specialized people join the office, I am thinking more of how to develop in my middle-aged career for the next two decades and more. Just like many of my colleagues at CWAJ, I foresee balancing work, volunteering and family for a long time to come.
Work Cited
Space Foundation Editorial Team (18 July 2024). Space Foundation announces $570B space economy in 2023, driven by steady private and public sector growth. SpaceFoundation.org >> Space Foundation Press Releases >>. Retrieved 27 January 2025, from https://www.spacefoundation.org/2024/07/18/the-space-report-2024-q2/
OM Profiles, commissioned and edited by Jennie Orchard
