Minako Abe, M.D. (ASIJ 1988)

Minako Abe is the director of the Tokyo Cancer Clinic in Japan. She attended ASIJ from 1976-1988 and after graduating, attended UC Berkeley for her B.A. and earned her M.D. at SUNY Stony Brook.  She has dual U.S. board certifications in Emergency Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine.  Practicing Emergency Medicine in NYC and NJ for over 15 years, she loved treating all kinds of illnesses and people from all walks of life, but found that nearly 80% of what she saw was related to unhealthy lifestyle choices.  Chronic illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and even 30-50% of cancers are preventable. As such, she developed a strong interest in Lifestyle Medicine, particularly in relation to the field of immunology and oncology.  

In 2014, she and her family moved to Tokyo to help with her father’s cancer immunotherapy clinic. Having lived outside of Japan for 26 years, she experienced a bit of culture shock, having to relearn Japanese and understanding a completely different medical system.  However, with both of her children currently attending ASIJ, this has given her family a sense of belonging within this very special international community.A year into moving here, her husband was diagnosed with a rare spinal cord tumor, and when searching for the best treatment options in the U.S., she was surprised to find that the most advanced treatment options were actually right here in Japan.  Even the patented cancer vaccines and immune cell treatments at the Tokyo Cancer Clinic is not widely known or available elsewhere in the world!  

This experience got her thinking – how isolating it is for expats in Japan to go through a cancer diagnosis while also navigating a foreign medical system.  How are people to know that perhaps the best treatments and opportunities lie right here?  Her passion project is to help cancer patients navigate the Japanese medical system, while coaching them to thrive and not just survive with Lifestyle Medicine and Mindset.   

You can find her at

Timeline

Harald Gjerde, MD, FRCSC (St. Mary’s 2006)

He was the Clinical Director of the Special Olympics Canada Opening Eyes eye-screening program for Atlantic Canada. He has worked as a professional narrator and voice actor, to authoring scientific papers, as well as being a published poet and writer. He will be moving to Vancouver this winter to work for the BC Children’s Hospital as a Pediatric Ophthalmologist, and work as a Clinical Instructor at the University of British Columbia.  

Kazuna Yamamoto (CAJ 2015)

TIMESTAMP

Voice Up Japan https://voiceupjapan.org/

Ellen Richards

Experiencing the societal differences of both the US and Japan, Ellen discovered another passion of hers: promoting the status of and advocating for professional women, especially in Japan. Although only at the beginning of what she hopes is a fruitful journey, Ellen has been working with fellow alumnae to develop the first professional alumnae network for her all-girls alma mater. In developing this, she hopes to make pre-professional development part of her former high school’s education as well as bring professional alumnae together to exchange opportunities and advice for navigating the business world as a woman.  

TIMESTAMPS

Jason Chung (Zama 2005)

Jason was born in 1986 and is originally from Honolulu, HI. Due to being an Army family, his family moved around stateside and to Korea before landing a long-term residency in Japan. Camp Zama to be exact. Jason attended John O’ Arnn Elementary School located in Sagamihara Family Housing Area (housing for military families) and eventually transitioned over to Zama American High School to complete his secondary years, graduating in 2005. During his time with the Zama Trojans, he participated in varsity football and the JROTC program.  Upon graduating, he relocated to California to pursue his post-secondary education and eventually enlisting in the United States Army Reserves. Following his graduation from Solano College in 2008 with an associate in Liberal Arts, he transferred to the neighboring college, California State University – Sacramento to work on his bachelor’s in Psychology. Through the Army Reserves, he was selected to participate in the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) where he would eventually contract as a ROTC cadet to work towards in becoming an Army officer.  As many have experienced the hardships at the time, Jason decided to withdraw from both the college and the ROTC program to take what became a long-term “break” in 2011.  Upon completion of his contract with the Reserves, he relocated to Texas to start a new chapter. The Lonestar State opened up new friendships, career experiences, and eventually meeting the love of his life who is now his wife, and the mother to their toddler son. In late 2016, his wife gave him the motivation to go back to school to complete his degree; and so, he did Spring of 2017. ​ Jason is now pursuing a career as a secondary English Language Arts Reading teacher. If timing and life allow it, he’d love to head back to Japan to contribute as a DoDDS educator to his alma mater Zama High School or even a neighboring DoDEA school.  

TIMESTAMP

John Hong (KISJ 2016)

TIMESTAMPS

Elliot Waldman (ASIJ 2005)

Elliot Waldman is the senior editor of World Politics Review.  Prior to joining WPR, he spent five years as a news producer at the Washington, DC bureau of Tokyo Broadcasting System, Japan’s oldest and largest commercial television and radio network. In that capacity, he was responsible for facilitating TBS’s coverage of U.S. politics and foreign policy, and he reported from over 15 different countries and 25 U.S. states.  ​ He has a master’s degree in international relations and international economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a bachelor's degree in international affairs from the George Washington University. He speaks fluent Japanese and is conversant in Vietnamese.  

Podcast host for World Podcast Review

Articles written by Elliot Waldman

TIMESTAMPS

Frankie Sihi (Seisen 2006)

Born in 1988, Frankie is a half-Japanese half-American artist from Tokyo. After receiving her BFA in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts NY in 2010, she returned to Tokyo where she currently resides.  Her work ranges from painting on canvas to darumas to large scale murals — blending her multicultural roots and social commentary through a synthesis of freehanded patterns and lively palette.  She is widely experienced in corporate collaborations including projects with Google, Starbucks, Microsoft, Adobe and Instagram, and is also known for her role in the hit Japanese reality tv series Terrace House.   

TIMESTAMPS

Sam Shobeiri (St. Mary’s 2007)  

Born and raised in Japan, Sam is a graduate of St. Mary’s Class of 2007. Unlike many of his peers who attended international school for most of their K-12 education, Sam attended Japanese elementary school until middle of 6th grade. After graduating high school, Sam attended the University of Washington in Seattle, where he majored in marketing.   Missing the amazing food scene of Japan, Sam quickly returned to Tokyo to start his career at Expedia Group, one of the largest online travel agencies in the world.  He spent 7+years at the company’s hotel sales division, where he became one of the youngest area managers in the organization, overseeing both new business development and account management.   In 2018, Sam took an offer from Skyscanner, one of the leading metasearch sites in the world. As the commercial lead in charge of the Japan market, Sam manages relationships with local airlines and travel agencies. Additional to his full time Job, Sam recently founded a small side company, focusing mainly on consulting and investing.  On the weekends, you can find him at Tokyo Verdy matches, taking photos around the city, or enjoying IPAs at the local breweries.   

TIMESTAMP

Mayumi Daigo（Former ASIJ Staff)

Mayumi was born in Tokyo and raised in Chiba, Japan. She was interested in English language and its culture since she was a child despite none of her family members understands English. In 1990, she joined in Intensive English Study Program at the University of California, Davis, California in the US. She studied comparative cultures and translation while attending Japan College of Foreign Language..  In April 2001, she joined The American School In Japan as Athletics/Activities Office Secretary. She assisted athletic programs of middle and high school, also a co-curricular program of high school until 2007. 

In 2008, she learned that her mother had ovarian cancer a few weeks after her son’s birth. In October 2015, her mother passed away peacefully. As recovering from her mother’s passing and her previous marriage, she started thinking of ‘Quality of Life’. In 2020, she recognized she needs to take good care of herself mentally and physically while Japan’s first State of Emergency of Covid-19. 

Through her working experience at ASIJ and studying in California, she writes about differences of international schools/Japanese schools, her perception of cultural differences of Japanese/English-speaking countries, parenting in Japanese by the pseudonym, Mami Ichihara(イチハラマミ) on a Japanese platform, ‘note’ besides working as Administrative Assistant of a Japanese educational institute.   

TIMESTAMPS