I currently work in the Business Design Department of the advertising agency Hakuhodo with the ambition of building a "good relationship" between corporate clients and consumers. Many of my friends from university have gone on to work in highly public-facing fields such as international organizations and NGOs, and I am inspired by seeing them succeeding in these fields. However, to me, the advertising work I am involved in is nothing less than an important form of social contribution. I believe that communication through advertising is an essential infrastructure for both people's lives and corporate activities.
Advertising is about "communicating in an easy-to-understand way the value of the products and services that companies can provide to consumers, and encouraging them to take action." We put a lot of effort into making our advertising easy to understand, and we aim to express the "slightly better future" that companies can promise in our advertising, so that people will think it's a good idea.

It doesn't end with, "The problem is like this, so you should do this." We work closely with our clients, bring together in-house staff, and work together as a team to reach the goal of resolving the problem. That is what makes us business producers. I think there is a connection to the role of a "servant leader," which we learned about as the ideal way for people at Aogaku to be, one who finds their own mission and willingly serves others.

• *Plan → Do → Check → Action cycle

Since I was in elementary and junior high school, I loved watching TV commercials and billboards in the city. Products, services, and companies are expressed in so many different ways that advertising naturally becomes a part of our lives. Although I was interested in advertising, it didn't actually lead directly to my career choice. Even as a child, I was strongly attracted to commercials that conveyed the contributions that companies make to society, advertisements that are similar to branding and express the worldview of the product in a dramatic way, and messages in public service advertisements that appeal to social manners, disease awareness, the importance of international cooperation, and the activities of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. Looking back, I think that from there, my desire for a job with a high level of public interest that leads to the resolution of international and social problems began to grow and grow. The reason I chose the Faculty of School of International Politics, Economics and Communication at Aoyama Gakuin University as my first choice was because, with that inclination, I found the free school atmosphere, the environment of the faculty, and the curriculum content of Aogaku very attractive.

What led me to choose my own career path was a lecture on media that I took in the "The Aoyama Standard" course. "The Aoyama Standard" is a university-wide liberal arts education system that any Aogaku can take, regardless of faculty or department, and is a unique curriculum of Aogaku. If I hadn't encountered the theme of "PR" in this Introduction to Media class, it was such a big influence on my career choice that I probably wouldn't be in my current workplace.
In Japan, PR is often misinterpreted as appealing or advertising, but it is actually an abbreviation of Public Relations, a communication method to improve the relationship between clients (companies/celebrities/governments, etc.) and the general public. In Europe and the United States, specialists called PR companies support the communication of all kinds of important people and companies, starting with election campaigns. I learned about PR in class, and as I became interested and researched it myself, I thought that if I worked in this field, I could make use of the international perspective I had honed in my undergraduate studies and build a socially meaningful career. With this in mind, I first got a job at a PR company after graduating from university.

My language skills, including English, are one of my weapons. I studied abroad as a student at Aoyama Gakuin University, which gave me a solid foundation in language skills. Even now, I use English in my daily work, such as web conferences and document preparation.
Even if I could go back to high school, I would choose Aoyama Gakuin University again. In addition to the traditional liberal school atmosphere, the university offers a learning environment that will surely be useful in the future. I also think that Aogaku graduates have a deep attachment to their alma mater. I am proud of the wonderful school atmosphere, which naturally brings together people who can say that they love their university and those who study there with that feeling.
I hope that this message will serve as a PR tool to build a good relationship between my alma mater and all of our readers.