JICA’s international cooperation activities are carried out by experts in various fields, both inside and outside of JICA, who are passionate about their work. In “People Tackling International Challenges,” we focus on the stories of these people and delve into their past and future aspirations. In this special edition, we interviewed two people working in different fields, transportation and healthcare, about the starting points and crossroads of their careers.
From left, Ms. Mayumi Shoko (Section Chief, Track Transportation Division, Oriental Consultants Global, Inc. Facilitator Tomoko Miyagawa, Deputy Director, Development Cooperation Human Resources Office, Human Resources Department, JICA
Hobby of “music” became an opportunity to open the door to the world.
Tomoko Miyagawa, Deputy Director, Human Resources Department, JICA (“Ms. Miyagawa”) Ms. Shoko works in the field of transportation as a civil engineer for a private consultant, and Mr. Matsuo works in the field of health care as a specialized contractor for JICA. You are both involved in international cooperation from different fields and in different positions.
Mayumi Shouko (Shouko): I saw a flyer for JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers distributed at a coming-of-age ceremony. I thought that there would be no openings in the field of civil engineering, which I had studied at university, but when I checked the application guidelines, I was impressed to find a position in civil engineering design. However, I was impressed to find a position in civil engineering design when I checked the job description. At the time, I was a member of a light music club and interested in Western music, and I had a vague yearning to go abroad. I think this was also the starting point for me to study abroad for a short period of time in England as a university student, where I had the experience of seeing Japan from the outside for the first time, broadening my values and at the same time being shocked by my lack of knowledge and language skills.
Mayumi Shouji
After graduating from university (Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering), he worked as a construction consultant, JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteer (Civil Engineering Design, Uganda), JICA Domestic Cooperation Officer, Africa Department (special commission), overseas long-term training (Master’s degree in Civil Engineering in England), Reconstruction Agency, JICA Planning and Research Officer (Myanmar), and from 2019, Development Consultants, Oriental Consultants Global Co. As a resident civil engineer, he is responsible for construction supervision of large-scale railroad projects in Myanmar and the Philippines (grant aid). Currently posted to Manila, Philippines as a mother and son, where he is engaged in construction management of the southern section of the North-South Commuter Rail Extension Project.
Hidenori Matsuo (Matsuo) After graduating from university, I worked as an occupational therapist at a hospital for three years. I had been playing the wood bass since I was in high school, and this was the job I aimed for as I thought music could be utilized as a means of rehabilitation. Later, when I went to Cuba to play in a Cuban music band, I was able to meet a wheelchair user from the NPO “Fly away! Wheelchair” association, I helped transport wheelchairs to the site and became interested in international cooperation, thinking, “There is such a way. I also wanted to think about the health of society from a macro perspective, so I took the plunge and applied for the JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers program to gain experience.
Hidenori Matsuo
After graduating from university, she worked as an occupational therapist at a private hospital. After working for JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (Niger and Malawi Public Health), studying in France (Master’s Degree in Public Health), and working as a development consultant, she has been a specialist commissioned member of the Health Team 3, Health Group, Human Development Department of JICA since 2019. He has been working on forming and managing the implementation of technical cooperation projects in the field of healthcare in Cambodia, and promoting DX through the introduction of digital health, including the computerization of the maternal and child health handbook.
Build trust by becoming an absolute ally / elicit autonomy and initiative
Miyagawa: In addition to your experience in the JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, we had something unexpected in common: a love of music. So your passion for your hobby is also one of your triggers. What did you find rewarding about the work of international cooperation and what difficulties did you find peculiar to it?
Shoko: Working in developing countries, I feel that “there are hardships, but the rewards are also extremely great. The sense of accomplishment you get when you overcome hardships in a situation where Japanese common sense is not the norm is something you cannot experience when working in developed countries. In infrastructure development work, before starting the main construction work, it is necessary to acquire land at the expense of the partner country’s government, but this often takes time in terms of site acquisition by the client and relocation work. While respecting the culture and customs of the counterparty country, we work together with the counterparty country’s government to resolve the problem and build a relationship of mutual trust. I am always conscious of “being an absolute ally of the partner country’s government.
Matsuo: Although disease prevention is a field in which it is difficult to see results, I was very happy to see that the project I was involved in led to changes in the country’s health system itself, improved access to medical care, and made a concrete difference in local lives. What I have experienced in my work, including as an occupational therapist, is that it is more about bringing out the autonomy and initiative of the other person rather than being upfront myself. This is also consistent in my approach to international cooperation.
Shoko: One of the difficulties unique to the international cooperation industry may be that there are more career crossroads than in other industries, as each project is linked to a fixed-term contract. Before the Internet became widespread, I used the fax function and collected job information from the bulletin board of JICA’s Hiroo (at that time) for supporting returned personnel.
Miyagawa: Thank you for using our services. How have you been able to determine your own suitability for a career in the international cooperation industry?
Tomoko Miyagawa
He joined JICA in 1992 (at that time). After working in charge of technical cooperation projects in forestry and energy conservation, the Evaluation Department, the International Cooperation Human Resources Department, and the Malaysia Office, he has been the Deputy Director of the Development Cooperation Human Resources Office, Human Resources Department since 2020. His responsibilities include capacity building training and management of PARTNER, a career information site for international cooperation operated by JICA.
Shoko: If I were to divide my experience into field and management, I would say that I have experienced both in exactly half of my career. In management, I worked as a contractor in JICA’s Regional Affairs Department, where I was in charge of project formation, and in the overseas office, where I was in charge of project management. In addition to my expertise, I enjoyed multitasking, such as cross-field coordination, negotiation, and logistics work, and felt that I was suited to the job. Life events had a major influence on my decision to settle into my current field-based work. I left my child in Japan until she was 2 years old after giving birth, sometimes traveling to Africa on business trips, which was heartbreaking, but before she was 3 years old, I took my child to Myanmar for a mother-child assignment and realized that balancing work and child-rearing overseas was a good fit for us as a parent and a child. From then on, I decided that I would never leave my child, so I chose a regular job as a company employee and shifted to an on-site type of work living overseas. I now focus on one project for a long period of time and find it rewarding to be in the field type, which requires more expertise, and again, I believe it fits my current lifestyle.
Mr. Shoko, in his current position, is present at the site with officials from the Philippine Department of Transportation and Philippine National Railways regarding the construction of a railroad track in the Philippines, and explains the details of the plan to them.
Matsuo: In my case, when I was working for a development consulting firm, I had to travel for a total of six months a year, once for two or three months at a time. After the birth of my child, I wanted to review such a lifestyle and chose my current post in management (case management) at JICA. To be honest, I have made my choice in accordance with my own lifestyle rather than aptitude. I have experienced both field work and management, so I understand both sides, such as how to communicate with the partner government in the field and how to manage contracts in Japan. That is what I am living in my current job. I think it would be better to experience both before deciding on my suitability for the job, rather than making a definite decision.
Nothing beats “I do it because I love it.”
Miyagawa: It is interesting that you have made the opposite choice with the life event of “birth of a child”. You two have a lot of experience, but is there anything you wish you had done before?
Shoko: When I was struggling with balancing childcare and work, I went to a career consultation at PARTNER, and the consultant advised me to try to work based in Japan while my child was young, and in the meantime, acquire an associate professional engineer degree and, if I had the extra energy, add another foreign language. Although I had some concerns about my future career because of the Japan-based work, I successfully obtained an associate professional engineer’s license, which led to my posting to Myanmar as a JICA planning researcher when my child was 2 years and 9 months old. Later, I was also able to obtain a professional engineer’s license, but the only regret I have is that I was not able to increase my language skills.
Matsuo: I am still taking French lessons once a week, but I am still not very good at English either, and I wish I had studied it harder when I was younger. I feel that it is important to keep challenging yourself, not only in languages, but to keep trying, because even if you fail, you have nothing to lose.
Miyagawa: It seems to me that younger people are in more of a hurry to have “expertise”. What advice would you give to those who want to be involved in international cooperation in the future?
Shoko: In a road route planning exercise at university (Department of Civil Engineering), we had a practical exercise in which we had to connect the starting and ending points shown on a drawing with contour lines by calculating straight and curved lines. I was shocked when I was able to recreate the three-dimensional road structure in my mind while looking at the two-dimensional drawing. I thought, “This is what I want to do. I guess you could say that the excitement I felt at that moment is what has brought me to this point. I think it is easier to start with what you are interested in or what you think is interesting, even though you may be a little nervous about specializing.
Matsuo: I think it is difficult if you feel that you have to have some expertise in order to solve social issues. First of all, we should value our own “likes” and “interests. There are people who do things because they feel they have to and people who do things because they like them, but they are never as good as the latter. In my case, when I go to a bookstore on my days off, I always check out areas such as rehabilitation, public health, and DX. I think that what I can keep my interest in in a natural way, without overdoing it, is what leads to expertise.
Mr. Matsuo during his time in the JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. He was sent to Niger and Malawi in the field of public health, and says, “It opened my way to the world.
Miyagawa: Finally, please tell us what kind of career you would like to pursue in the future.
Shoko: Many of the consultants I work with are veterans in their 60s and 70s. I hope that when I reach their age, I will be able to use my experience to become a persuasive engineer.
Matsuo: I would like to be a leader in initiating and discussing initiatives in which other countries and Japan support each other, while taking advantage of strengths such as the Maternal and Child Health Handbook initiative for which Japan has been recognized to date.
Miyagawa: I see that both of you are working positively in your daily duties while continuing to improve yourselves. There are many ways to get involved in international cooperation, and I was reminded of the importance of finding a place where I can utilize my experience and demonstrate its value to the fullest.
© Source JICA
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