Tokyo Speaks

Episode 83 – Cyberpunk Girl: Using Tech to Inspire

Steffie Harner is a Software Engineer at Code Chrysalis; Co-Founder of Startup Lady Japan; and Cyberpunk content creator/influencer. Steffie came to Japan simply to fulfill her childhood dreams, but a series of events led her to co-founding a nonprofit organization for female entrepreneurs and a new career in software engineering. In this episode, we chat with Steffie about the following:

  • Co-founding Startup Lady Japan
  • Becoming a software engineer
  • Her life and career in Silicon Valley
  • Her love for Cyberpunk and digital content creation
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Episode 82 – COVID-19 Tokyo: Community Check-In

Episode 82: Returning guests, Robin Lewis, Kayoko Hirano, and Yan Fan, join Tokyo Speaks remotely to talk about how they’re adjusting to this new reality caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Although we all are dealing with a global pandemic that has impacted every aspect of our lives, Robin, Kayako, and Yan share some ways that we can still be productive, healthy, and helpful to others in their time of need.  

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Episode 81 – Forging Your Own Path

Episode 81: Amber Chook is Co-founder of Zebra Global and Founder of TEDxRoppongi (an independently-organized TEDx event in Tokyo). Amber moved to Mie, Japan from Harbin, China at the age of 15, and she was placed in a high school that had low expectations for its graduates.

Instead of following the standard path for women in the area, getting married and becoming a housewife, Amber pushed aside her high school responsibilities and religiously studied English on her own; then eventually pursued her college education at Hosei University in Tokyo. 

In this episode, we discuss topics such as:

  • Growing up in China and Japan
  • Her interest and career in Blockchain technology
  • Women empowerment in the tech/fin-tech sector
  • Her passion for social impact
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Episode 79 – Foreign Moms in Tokyo

Episode 79: Ebony Norwood-Brown and Barbara Kobayashi are teachers and foreign moms residing in Tokyo. This episode is all about their experiences of motherhood – more specifically, motherhood from the perspective of two foreign (American) women. We discuss topics such as:

  • Prenatal care in Japan
  • Family/spousal relationships
  • Work-life balance
  • Japanese traditions related to pregnancy and birth
  • Raising biracial and multiracial kids in a homogenous society
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