Tokyo Alumni Podcast

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

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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.   

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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.   

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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.   

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Raymond Strack (ASIJ 2005) 

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Bonus Clips

Shasta Grown https://shastagrown.com/  

Music Credit https://www.bensound.com/

Tokio Takai (St. Marys International School 2017)

Tokio Takai graduated from St. Mary’s in 2017 as a 12-year veteran and currently studies Government & Legal Studies at Bowdoin College, where he is expected to graduate in May of 2021. 

Upon graduation, Tokio will return to Goldman Sachs as an Analyst in their Merchant Banking Division in Tokyo, where he interned over the past summer.  Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Tokio had worked both on the sell & buy-side. Tokio most recently worked at Jefferies (2020-2021) as a part-time Equity Research Associate covering TMT. He also sat on Jefferies’ Equity Sales desk as a Summer Analyst in 2019. At SOSV, Tokio was involved in Venture Capital, investing in and growing tech startups throughout Asia amid the COVID-19 pandemic. CLSA introduced Tokio to the world of finance, where he worked in the Equity Research department covering Financials.   Prior to working in finance, Tokio founded a food-tech startup and had held various internship positions at Safdie Architects (most recently known for their development of the Marina Bay Sands and Jewel Changi Airport), Trip.com, and Keidanren (US-Japan Business Council).   

Up until college, Tokio alpine ski raced competitively, eventually representing Japan at the international level. During the summers, Tokio would ski race in New Zealand where he trained with the local Kiwi team. Tokio has been skiing since the age of 2 and continues to ski to this day. 

At St. Mary’s, Tokio was part of the Cross Country, Soccer, and Buccaneer Swim teams. He also sang for the Varsity Ensemble directed by Randy and Rachel Stenson.  Tokio was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan and is native in both English and Japanese.   

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Natuski Uemura (Former Aoba International School)

Before I entered Aoba Japan International School as an ESL student, I spoke no English and my only experience abroad was a vacation trip to Guam (my parents didn't and don't speak English and have never lived abroad). After immersing myself in American style education for 3 years, I graduated as Valedictorian of the class in 1999.

After AJIS, I attended a Quaker high school in Pennsylvania then went to Washington University in St. Louis. After graduation, I went into a PhD. program in Political Science at Stanford University but left the program after 1 year with a Master's degree as I wanted to "explore" the world more before committing myself to a life in academia. There was a slight possibility that I would go back to the program after working for few years but I never went back.

After Stanford, I worked for an Asian VC in Silicon Valley then moved back to Japan where I started a career in M&A advisory. I worked for various firms including Credit Suisse and Deloitte before going freelance, doing translation and analyst work for financial institutions, consulting firms, and funds. My now-husband (boyfriend at the time) got seconded to his firm's Mumbai office, so I went along. While continuing to work as a freelancer, I also started a jewelry business, designing jewelry, manufacturing it in Jaipur then selling it in Japan. That's when I started to explore my creative side in business.

I started a Youtube channel in June 2018, initially to share vegan cooking recipes then expanded the topic to include yoga, mindfulness, sustainable living, etc. 

Find Natsuki at Tokyo Veg Life! 88K Subscribers! ​

Shinji Yamasaki (ASIJ 2003)

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Yu Hayami 早見優 (ASIJ 1984)

Hayami is a J-pop singer and TV actress in Japan. In 2011, the Japanese music television program Music Station listed her as the 50th all-time best-selling idol in Japan, with 2,850,000 records sold.  Yu Hayami was born in Atami, Shizuoka, and was raised in Guam and Hawaii from the age of 3 to 14 years old. She was scouted by an agent at the age of 14 and soon moved back to Japan to start her career as a singer. She attended ASIJ from 1981 to 1982. She entered Sophia University and graduated, receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Comparative Culture.  

 In 1982, Hayami gained her J-pop singer's debut with the single "Isoide Hatsukoi" (ASAP, my first love!) after being scouted by a talent agent in a shopping mall’s elevator in Hawaii in 1980 when she was only 14 years old. Named “Bilingual girl back from Hawaii” due to her ability to speak very fluent English because of her background, Hayami was instantly recognized and touted as one of the best newcomers to watch out for. 

She proceeded to win most of the major newcomers’ awards by end of 1982. In 1983, her fifth single, "Natsu Iro no Nancy" (Summer Coloured Nancy), was selected as a campaign song for a Coca-Cola commercial, and she became a cover girl of that. The single became Hayami’s first Big Hit, making it to the top 10 of the Oricon Chart, winning countless awards. As a result of the success of the song, Hayami made her 1st appearance at the 34th edition of the year end NHK Kouhaku Red and White Song Festival. Hayami participated consecutively 3 years in the prestigious show. (1983 - 1985) ​ 

Hayami shifted her focus to become an actress and TV & Radio presenter in the 1990s. Being able to speak fluent English, Hayami’s host programmes were all catered to English speaking education materials and were all very popular. Hayami continued her successful presenter’s work till current, and can still be regularly seen on entertainment varieties programme singing her signature songs from the early stage of her idol career.   

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Dr. Gwen Thornton (ASIJ 2009)