In this pod I talk to an amazing Japan-based Kiwi duo - businesswomen Jayne Nakata & Catherine O'Connell. Jayne and Catherine, among many other things, co-host the award-winning Jandals in Japan podcast, helping demystify Japan for Kiwi companies interested in breaking in to this amazing country.

Jayne and Catherine share their experiences of arriving separately in Japan over 20 years ago, both thinking they'd only be away for a year or two but finding themselves still hooked to their adopted country over two decades later. We discuss their different but also connected lives. Jayne being rurally-based with her family in Fukushima Prefecture which in 2011 suffered a triple catastrophe of earthquake, tsunami, & nuclear disaster. Jayne dispels some of the prevailing myths about Fukushima and shares why she chose to stay. Tokyo-based Catherine has forged a hugely successful corporate and governance career, including being the first non-Japanese woman to serve on the Boards of Toyota and Fujitsu. She is the founder and principal of the first foreign-female-founded boutique law firm in Japan and is a serial award winner, taking out Entrepreneur of the Year, Foreign Lawyer of the Year, and Boutique Law Firm of the Year.

During the pod we explore themes including resiliency, the importance of story-telling in Japan, lessons for Kiwi businesses considering entering this market, & some of the more egregious errors they've seen businesses make when trying to break into Japan (and how to avoid them).

Both Jayne and Catherine see huge opportunities for New Zealanders to further strengthen our country's relationship with Japan, are keen to help, and are generous in sharing invaluable insights for anyone interested in their adopted homeland.

A huge thank you to both Jandals for taking time out to talk with me on Kiwi Flees. Please check out the Jandals in Japan pod wherever you get your favourite podcasts or head to jandalsinjapan.com

On behalf of OFNZ, thank you for listening and sharing the pod.

My huge thanks to the Kiwi Flees for candid conversations, and to my sound engineer Robbie Mulligan and the team at Matrix Digital (Wgtn).

Thank you, too, to Kea for promoting the pod.

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