Tokyo Speaks

Episode 74 – Super Smash Hoes Podcast

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Episode 74: Erika Bulach and Fahreen Budhwani met in 2018 while attending Sophia University in Tokyo. After realizing they shared similar interests, Erika and Fahreen teamed up and created the Super Smash Hoes Podcast. On the podcast they discuss societal issues concerning gender inequality, women’s rights, feminism, the LGBTQ+ community and more; in the context of Japanese society.  

In this episode, Erika, who was raised in Japan, shares her experiences with sexual harassment and assault. We also discuss the safety and overall well-being of women in Japan. Fahreen could not physically join us; however, this episode includes an audio summation of her dissertation “Why Womenomics Isn’t Working in Japan”, which adds another layer of depth to this informative chat. 

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Episode 73 – 2019 Wrap-Up: Community in Tokyo

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Episode 73: We celebrate our podcast anniversaries with our pod brothers Mega and Late of the Mega Late Show. At the heart of both podcasts is a focus on the international community in the Greater Tokyo Area. In the last episode of 2019, we recap this year’s highlights and recognize many of the awesome guests we featured on our respective podcasts. Learn about some of the talented folks in entertainment and music production, plus leaders in technology, marketing/advertising, and environmental activism. 

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Episode 72 – Context, Passion, and Opportunity

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Episode 72: Ed Thompson is a marketing consultant active in Japan and Asia-Pacific, who started his own Tokyo-based company in 2000 called Concept Design. Ed is frequently called upon by global executives to assist them with coaching and training programs to build stronger teams that can compete in global markets. He’s also a lead lecturer in continuing education programs at Temple University and New York University (Japan campuses) targeting working professionals in Tokyo.

In this episode, Ed shares some of the key things he’s learned throughout his professional career in Japan, including one of the simplest and most powerful ways to leverage your passion to achieve opportunities that may be waiting just around the corner. 

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Episode 71 – The Voncujovi Brothers: What is Vodu?

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Episode 71 (Part 2 of 2): This episode is a continuation from Episode 70 featuring Ghanaian-Japanese brothers, Sena and Pele Voncujovi. In this episode, Sena (a Vodu priest) and Pele (a Vodu practitioner) give us insights into the West African spiritual and herbal practice of Vodu (also spelled Voodoo or Vodun). 

The influence of Christianity and Islam in the African continent has long been apparent. Subsequently, Vodu has been demonized globally. Many Ghanaians and other West Africans have denounced it as “satanic” and there are fewer and fewer priests and practitioners today. Through their social media platform “ReVodution”, Sena and Pele’s mission is to destigmatize Vodu and restore a lost pride among Africans. [Episode length: 36 minutes]

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Episode 70 – The Voncujovi Brothers: Black on Both Sides

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Episode 70 (Part 1 of 2): Sena and Pele Voncujovi are Ghanaian-Japanese brothers, who relocated to Japan from their home country of Ghana. Sena is a Career Development Coordinator at Ashinaga and Pele is a Marketing Analyst at Rakuten Mobile. Both Sena and Pele, along with Oulimata Gueye, are co-founders of the group and community event called Jaspora. Jaspora aims to facilitate networking, learning and collaborating among people of the African diaspora (as well as their allies) with the purpose of accelerating contributions to the development of Africa.

In this episode, we chat with Sena and Pele about their educational background, biracial identity, and cultural experiences in both Ghana and Japan. Stay tuned for part 2 of this conversation (Episode 71) next Tuesday! 

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Episode 68 – Supporting Foreign Entrepreneurs in Japan

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Episode 68: Miho Tanaka is a former public relations manager, who recently established her own company Startup Japan. Startup Japan’s mission is to support foreign entrepreneurs with starting businesses in Japan. In this episode, Miho tells us what you should consider before starting your own business in Japan. We talk about different types of visas, legal advice, company bank accounts, and picking a location (city) to start your own company.

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Episode 67 – Women Who Code Tokyo

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Episode 67: Tutti Quintella is the Director of Women Who Code Tokyo; a branch of the global non-profit organization Women Who Code. Tutti is also an engineering manager at the Japanese e-commerce company Mercari. In this episode, we discuss Women Who Code Tokyo’s efforts to inspire and help women advance in the field of software engineering and other tech-related fields. 

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Episode 66 – Failing Forward

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Episode 66: Ryan Aynz is a marketing & advertising executive for the data analytics company Nielsen; author of the blog Advertising in Asia; and founder of Tokyo Digital Marketing Bootcamp and Japan Advertising & Marketing community (JAM!)

Ryan has appeared as a marketing analyst on both Fox Business and Bloomberg News. He’s a seasoned entrepreneur, who has created six companies in the last 15 years. In episode 66, Ryan shares personal stories of career success and failure, and tells us his purpose for coming to Japan. 

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Episode 65 – Coercion

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Episode 65: Ocean Evers-Peete, also known by his music artist name, Dot.Kai, returns to the podcast to share a personal story about dealing with police and Japan’s legal system. Ocean takes us through the details of what was suppose to be a fun night out with friends, but turned into a horrific year-long drama which includes being interrogated. He also shares a few lessons learned from this bad experience, which can be helpful for foreigners visiting and living in Japan. 

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