By Masashi Sato

English major, 1996 graduate

The 1990s were a very hard time economically for Japan. We suffered a serious recession after the collapse of the bubble economy and there were not very many companies that wanted to hire university graduates due to the lack of positions available. Therefore, when I entered Sapporo University I was forced to think of a way to make myself stand out and thought it would be a good idea to spend one extra academic year in a completely different environment. I decided to participate in a SU Exchange Program during my senior year and studied at the University of Nebraska at Kearny from the fall of 1994 until the spring of 1995.

I was concerned that pushing back my graduation date might hurt my future evaluation by potential employers as far as my career was concerned since I was already a year behind due to a year I spent at high school in Canada. Knowing that if I extended my college education one more year in Nebraska I would be two years behind the majority of people of my age, but I decided that it was a risk I was willing to take.

To be honest with you, I did not know at the time what I was interested in as far as a career was concerned and I thought that going to the U.S. might help me to realize what it was that I would be good at and what kind of job would keep my interest over the years.

In Nebraska I lived in a dormitory with a bunch of other international students and there were people from all around the world living in this one tiny building. There were so many different races with different cultures and religions living together trying to learn and understand one another to establish a sense of family and to create a common bond. It was very important for everyone to live comfortably together but still maintain their sense of individuality.

I realized quickly that it wasn't only in the classroom that I would be learning, but that perhaps even more was to be learned simply from the day-to-day living experience. By the time I was to leave Nebraska for Japan I realized that my interests were focused on having a job where I would be able to work with people of different cultural backgrounds from around the world. From that time until now I have learned so much about diverse groups of people and it has really prepared me for the life I live today here in New York.

My entire work career has been related in some form or another to the food industry. I first began in a food manufacturing company in Sapporo. The company had a meat processing and wholesale operation and initially I was hired as a sales representative, but eventually my mission was to be involved in the international raw material procurement aspect of the company that was being newly established.

The company was planning to establish a new department in order to procure imported meat by their own workforce instead of buying it through trading companies. I thought it would be a very unique challenge for a company of that size to execute such a financial investment and to create an infrastructure that would require a lot of investment and faith.

Sadly to say they failed in the mission and were forced to claim bankruptcy in early 2000 soon after I resigned. Though this may seem like a failure on a personal level, I was able to walk away with a great sense of confidence in myself and with a lot of experience.

Today I live in Manhattan because I was sent here by my current company, ITO EN, LTD., to develop the unsweetened Ready-To-Drink market in the U.S. where it is thought of by many to be a sugar- and caffeine-soaked country. The company established its subsidiary, ITO EN (North America) INC., in the U.S. and started their operation in New York City in 2001, the year of the 911 attacks which woke everyone up to how much things can change from one day to the next.

Fortunately, I was not in New York at the time but was safe in a department at Ito En's Tokyo headquarters supporting ITO EN (North America) INC. by advising from abroad. Soon after that I was sent to New York and now three and half years have passed and New York has become my new home.

Our products in the U.S. are in a very unique position in the current market and they continue to become stronger and stronger. They have no calories, no fat, and no cholesterol, but supply the consumer with healthy functional components that are called tea antioxidants a.k.a. Catechins. It is sure that we are creating a new market in the so-called Pepsi/Coke country.

Today many countries in the world, including Japan, are being forced to come to terms with all of the life style related diseases. It is a serious problem, and people in the U.S. especially need to cut down on their daily intake of fats, sugars and cholesterol, and consumers' focus needs to move towards "wellness." They are always looking for something that has a positive health impact. We believe that our products will do just that.

Being involved in ITO EN not only an essential part of me and I am very happy to be at the stage in my life where I am learning the necessities to build a bigger and better business in an area where there is not a preexisting market for this specific type of product. Again, being a part of something new and risky may be something that you could benefit from being a part of at least once in your lifetime.

Recently, my wife and I had a baby boy here in New York and he is a dual American and Japanese citizen. He is a month old now and I feel like I have a new special job at home. My wife and I are really enjoying raising a baby in New York who from the very beginning is being exposed to multiculturalism, which is something that I have always found so fascinating.

Having and raising a child in such a different environment is indeed difficult for us and it is the newest challenge in my life. We all only have one life to live and I am very happy with the way in which everything is turning out. Always living every moment of my life to the fullest is something that I forever keep in my mind and it motivates me to continue to push myself to do and try new things everyday.

P.S. Hi everyone. Please feel free to contact me at msato@itoen.com if you are interested in asking about my current job or my life in Manhattan.