After moving back to Japan, Masaya soon realized that he was pulling more and more characteristics from both his French and Japanese backgrounds even more.
“It feels good, no confrontation. You know, Asian culture is still new to me. For example, when I start to negotiate in meetings, I feel like I’m from Paris. But when I’m eating sushi or Japanese food, I feel more Japanese. I guess it’s because I can appreciate it from deep down – when I’m in a negotiation, it’s about putting your mask on. You know, because it’s work.”
Traditionally speaking, bluntness often finds itself at odds with Japanese culture, but with the Parisian influence in him remaining both a permanent and valuable asset, Masaya had quickly realized that there was a distinct advantage to coming back to a place so familiar and yet so different.
“When I negotiate, I’m in my work zone. So in those situations, I do feel like I’m from Paris because I grew around so much evolving cultures.” Oddly enough, Masaya’s cultural differences were not a problem once returning back to Japan.
“Being older, even today in this young generation can be difficult. Sometimes, I find that when I talk to my staff who are mostly 25, they don’t understand what I’m saying. It’s not my language that they don’t understand, many times, they can’t seem to understand what I’m trying to get at.”
Instead, Masaya constantly found himself separated not by cultural or language barriers, but generational ones that exposed him to mindsets vastly different from his.
“After the Second World War and all that shit, the old timers, built Japan to be the safest country out there. So through that, I was reminded once again that culturally, society was constantly telling you not to express too much of yourself. So it’s less about having individual expression or standing up for the things that people believe in. But if someone does end up making a stand, people will follow. But finding that person can be pretty rare here in Japan.”
