Requests we receive are not always clear-cut and simple. When a request is ambiguous or difficult to address, we communicate carefully with the person making the request to find out his or her true desire. We then need to consider in concrete terms how we can use TMG’s facilities and human resources to fulfill the wish.
For example, when the mayor group of a city in Asia visited Tokyo, they wanted to learn about urban development while enjoying a bird’s eye view of Tokyo. I racked my brains over this request, trying to figure out how I could meet it using TMG’s facilities. I presented various ideas to the mayor, and ultimately fulfilled their wish by having a TMG staff member deliver a presentation on urban development at one of the conference rooms on a high-level floor of the TMG building, allowing the major to enjoy a view of Tokyo from high above. At our division, it is critically important to forge face-to-face relationships with outside parties so that they trust us as the go-to persons when making requests related to Tokyo. To engender such trust, we place top priority on listening to them in an empathetic way to find out what they wish to know about Tokyo.

I was a member of the seminar led by Professor Takashi Oshimura, who particularly helped me expand my horizons in world affairs with his extensive knowledge ranging from political thought to the cultures and history of the world. Many of my peers pursued education abroad, but I chose to stay in Japan, taking the view that AGU offered everything I needed to learn and being satisfied with my own academic progress. After graduating from AGU, I proceeded to a graduate school at another university, and landed a job with TMG in 2008.
I had initially considered working in the private sector, but when I started job hunting, I found myself reluctant to fill in the “entry sheets” to apply for jobs. I tried to imagine myself building a career at a corporation in the private sector, but somehow things didn’t seem right. I reconsidered my options, trying to identify what job I could see myself doing for many years. The answer was public official.
The phrase “All public officials are servants of the whole community” specified in the Constitution of Japan, sat well with me. I believe this was because I had been familiar with the Christian spirit of love and service that underlies Aoyama Gakuin, although as a student I had never consciously thought about the Christian faith, nor was I especially eager to attend worship every day or sing hymns. It was after I had become a public official that I noticed the spirit of love and service were deeply rooted in my soul. Opinions I hear can at times be harsh and requests can be difficult, but I am capable of facing others squarely and making dedicated efforts to support them with compassion. I believe I owe this capacity to the days I spent at Aoyama Gakuin.

When interacting with people from different countries, I always hope that they will grow fond of Tokyo. To the people who make requests, we are the contact persons for Tokyo, representatives of the city. In fact, we could very well be the first Japanese person they have ever met in their lives. Their impression of us will shape their impression of Tokyo. Therefore, I believe we should interact with them not in a businesslike manner, but as one person to another.
When engaging in interpersonal interactions with people from overseas, trivial facts I heard in classes at university become very useful. Faculty members at the School of International Politics, Economics and Communication have a rich stock of topics to talk about, not only academic topics, but also bits and pieces of trivia. When I attend to guests from around the world, I suddenly recall such trivia about different countries and regions, which provide me with great icebreakers to start up a fruitful conversation.

It is said that we are now in the age of the city. With more than half of the world’s population living in urban areas, efficient city management is of great concern to many administrative bodies. Tokyo being a typical megacity, I feel that its administrative management is drawing greater attention.
Notably, we are receiving increasing requests for tours of infrastructure-related facilities, especially the city’s punctual subways, facilities for disaster response projects, and recycling facilities that address environmental problems. Developing countries are now suffering from serious social issues concerning waste processing due to increasing urban populations. There was a time when Tokyo also suffered from waste problems. One of the roles Tokyo needs to fulfill in this world is to share its experience of holding discussions with local communities, trying out different ideas, and making efforts to improve technologies.