Japan Through an Expat's Eyes — Maya Matsuoka

In this episode of The IR thinker, the discussion turns to Japan as seen through the eyes of long-term foreign residents, examining how expats perceive the country’s politics, society, demographics and place in global affairs.Maya MatsuokaI am joined by Maya Matsuoka, host of the talk show Japan Expert Insights, whose professional experience across education, travel and tourism, and IT in both Bulgaria and Japan offers a distinctive vantage point on contemporary Japan.Maya Matsuoka is a long-term resident of Japan. She has worked both in Bulgaria and Japan, her career including positions in the education, travel and tourism, and IT industries.Over the past two years, with the help of the Tim Sullivan, Maya has built Japan Expert Insights into a community hub for professionals who have substantial experience of working and doing businesses in Japan.Content00:00 - Introduction02:59 - Japanese international voice in the last 10 years05:22 - Japanese confidence in international relations07:50 - Young Japanese and global politics11:39 - Japanese elite universities13:22 - Japanese political thinking18:55 - Why changes in Japan take so long23:50 - Abe’s impact on Japan29:14 - Abe’s legacy30:40 - Japanese domestic politics32:40 - One political party in Japan35:38 - Intellectual property decline39:19 - Ageing and demographics41:40 - Raising a child in Japan46:15 - Ukraine and Japan53:19 - Japanese regional relationsFollow & Further ResourcesSubstack: https://theirthinker.substack.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ir-thinker/X: https://x.com/irthinker_Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theirthinker/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theirthinker.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/irthinkerfb Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.