Returnees Edition「THE WAY − Vietnam ✖️ Singapore ✖️ Japan」(EN)

THE WAY Returnees Edition introduces women who continue to shine and empower themselves even after returning to Japan by making use of their experiences abroad.

This time, we meet Takako Denkai who has worked in Vietnam for four months and Singapore for eight months. She runs a company focusing on food wholesale and human resource development.

Takako spent her school days not thinking about much but through her experience overseas, she was shaken by her working style and the underlying way she was living her life.

We wonder what Takako got up to in the two ASEAN countries closest to Japan. We hear about the Vietnamese and Singaporean lifestyles, ways of working there and the lessons she’s learned there.

Moving to Vietnam as a fresh graduate

Takako currently manages a total of four companies, she’s a representative director of three companies and an officer at one. She started her career with setting up a restaurant founded by her father who had connections in Vietnam and a joint venture with a local owner.

Up until then, Takako had never worked in the hospitality industry and had no experience in setting up a restaurant. She was persuaded by her father who said, “You can be a teacher just by being Japanese!”