Since I was in middle school and high school, I was interested in advertising, so when I was thinking of where to go to school, I looked for a university or faculty with a famous seminar where I could study advertising. The reason I chose Aogaku 's School of Business was because I was attracted to the seminar taught by Professor Kobayashi Yasuhiko, who was in charge of the "Advertising Theory" class at the time and was known as a famous seminar. After enrolling, I specialized in advertising, focusing on the importance of "communicating something to the world" and "communicating," which Professor Kobayashi placed importance on. After graduating, I got a job at an advertising agency and worked in magazine advertisements for fashion and cosmetics for six years. I moved to my current company through a connection. I have more opportunities to be involved in not only advertising, but also in the production of various content and creative works, and my range of activities is expanding.

I am where I am today thanks to my experience at an advertising agency. It is often misunderstood, but my role is not the editor-in-chief of "VOGUE JAPAN" but the publisher. There is a separate person in charge of editing, and we work together to publish the media. My main role since I joined the company has been advertising sales. In addition to listening to the client's needs and creating advertising pages, I also plan and develop content to match them. Currently, I am involved in a wide range of areas, including digital content and event planning. My core goal of communicating something to the world has not changed since my university days.

In my case, I sometimes wonder why I narrowed it down to just advertising. I'm sure my perspective was narrow at the time. Advertising work requires a broad perspective, so sometimes I feel like I should have seen more of the world. That said, I am who I am today because I narrowed it down to advertising, so I don't regret that choice. When making a choice, it also means giving up something. When making a decision, it's important to gather a lot of information and judge from multiple angles, and sometimes to trust your intuition. Once you've made a decision, if you move forward with confidence, it will be the right choice.

That's right. By deciding to work for a company in the field of career support, Ota-san's future experiences may open up new options for her. There may come a time when she feels that she cannot give up on beauty after all. When that happens, she just needs to choose a new path without fear and move forward. There is still a long time in life, so you have plenty of opportunities to gain experience. Whatever choice you make, it is important to accept it as the "right answer" for you at that time and move forward.

Outside of work, I want to contribute to my hometown, Hiroshima. My mother was exposed to the atomic bomb when she was 0 years old. Of course, she has no memory of that time, but I grew up listening to her grandmother's stories. In Hiroshima, it is important to pass on the story of the atomic bomb in schools and in the community. However, when I came to Tokyo to attend university, I was shocked to see that there are few opportunities to pray silently or think about war and peace, and to remember August 6th as a special day when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. I feel that it is my mission to convey the importance of Hiroshima's atomic bomb and peace. I would like to make use of the "communication" skills I have cultivated through my experiences and make it my life's work. I also want to work on regional revitalization. I am happy that many people still visit Hiroshima, but with that comes the problem of overtourism. My dream is to contribute to Hiroshima, where livability and development are both compatible. I would like to make such a contribution to society in the future.

Indeed, I think it's great that Vogue Japan's articles incorporate diverse perspectives, allowing you to encounter not only the perspectives you are familiar with, but also values you may not have known before.
In fact, when dealing with the issue of lookism (the belief that appearance is the most important thing), a variety of perspectives are presented to the public by employing a variety of writers.
I think that in order to create a society where everyone can enjoy beauty, we need to consider how to deal with lookism. What is your view on lookism, Mr. Hiraishi?

I believe that by being flexible in our view of lookism, everyone can enjoy beauty more. If we were to assume that "lookism = evil" and deny all emphasis on appearances and looks, we would lose the joy of even enjoying makeup or supporting idols for their looks.
For example, in the case of models, it is necessary to judge their appearance and style from the perspective of how well they can make the clothes look good, but it is good to approach this in a way that suits the situation, such as making sure not to require an appearance that would cause health problems, and not bringing modeling standards into relationships with people close to you. Even in makeup events, rather than completely rejecting lookism and uniform standards of beauty, we try to get participants to think about "how they can enjoy beauty within that."

In addition to spreading the importance of diversity, VOGUE JAPAN also plays a role in disseminating content and creating culture. What do you think is the key to its success?

I also post about my daily activities on social media, and although I am still an amateur, I want to focus on continuing to produce authentic content.

In fact, I asked Professor Eric Masashi Matsunaga, who is currently supervising me in the seminar, directly to let me participate in the seminar study sessions from my second year.

(laughs) What was the most memorable thing about the seminar?

Whether it's content or events, valuing communication with users and audiences and linking it to creating culture has been a theme of yours since your university days. Is there anything good that students should do while they're in school?

thank you.
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