Nov 5

WITLife – Episode #2

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WITLife is a periodic post by Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03).

I have now begun my second assignment for the International Visitor Leadership Program, and this time around the person I am interpreting for is a female entrepreneur from the northern island of Hokkaido. We will be traveling around the country together for the next 3 weeks to study issues relating to women and work such as telecommuting, returning to the workplace after an extended absence and work flexibility. Not only that, but she is lucky enough to be here during this monumental presidential election!

In this spirit, our program coordinator arranged for us to visit a polling station in Arlington, Virginia that had opened at 6 that morning. Evidently at that time the line of eager voters had snaked out the door and the wait was up to two hours, but when we got there things had settled down a bit. My visitor was amazed to find 18 volunteers of all ages and races, as in Japan there is little passion for politics especially among young people. A former State Department employee who was volunteering took the time to explain the voting process to us while ushering in the crowds of people.

We had the chance to speak with a woman in a wheelchair who had just voted. This was also news to me but they offer “curbside service” for the handicapped. This means that as soon as she got out of her taxi, volunteers rushed to greet her and asked if they could bring her a ballot instead of her coming in. We also were able to speak with a 17-year old “page” (fancy way of saying volunteer) whose high school got the day off for the election. Not only did being underage prevent him from voting, it prevented him from getting paid for working there, whereas he would have gotten $150 if he was 18.

A small gesture which also surprised my visitor were the stickers that everyone proudly wore after leaving the polling station which read, “I voted.” She remarked that this sign of pride was great for motivating people, but that in Japan people would probably be too embarrassed to wear them. Noting the recent Prime Minister shakeup (yet again), she said that politics in her country was in major need of change as the voting rate is only 40%.

For our official program, we had a chock-full first day yesterday including a stop at the Small Business Administration to discuss its initiatives for helping women open their own businesses. They described the various programs available and emphasized that they didn’t accept everyone and often had to turn people away whose ideas wouldn’t fly. In her dialogue with the interlocutor, my guest commented that in Japan getting women to come forward with their ideas is in itself a problem. They wouldn’t have the problem of rejecting people as not enough would even apply! We discussed the possibility of it being a matter of willingness to take risks and fail, which is cultivated at a young age here with such entrepreneurial ideas as lemonade stands and babysitting. In Japan, on the other hand, above all entering a company and having job security is encouraged.

I enjoy traveling with a foreign visitor as it really enables you to see your country with fresh eyes. God knows America has its flaws, but on this day of such a groundbreaking election I can say that I am truly happy to be living here, especially for the opportunities awarded to me as a woman! Tonight we are going to an election party DC-style which should be eye-opening. I will be back to report later in the trip…