Staff
Interviews
International
Workplace
Data Analyst
Yangqing Chen
Born in China. Serious reader who likes ancient China, Rome and economics. Father of three children who speaks English, Japanese and Chinese.
Born in China. Serious reader who likes ancient China, Rome and economics. Father of three children who speaks English, Japanese and Chinese.
A global environment with substance
English is often used in internal meetings. But more than that, I think the most global aspect of RESTAR is the diversity of opinions and ideas that each member has. Because employees come from all parts of the world, there is often a diversity of ideas without being biased by any one idea. I believe this is a great strength of RESTAR, a global environment that is not limited to superficial language use.
Our goal is the world
"RESTAR's goal is not to be listed on the Japanese market, but to become a global company. To achieve this, it is of course important to improve our products and services, but it is also important to have the qualities to win in a global environment.
It is simple, but I believe that if you are proactive enough to actively express your opinions and make new proposals within a flat company like RESTAR, you have the qualities of a global talent."
Engineer
Brian Sutherland
Born and raised in Michigan, USA. Currently studying Thai!
Born and raised in Michigan, USA. Currently studying Thai!
Global Team Environment
The engineering team is very international and most team members, including myself, are of foreign nationality. I think it’s one of RESTAR's strengths that we are able to gather talented people from all around the world and share our varying perspectives and experiences. Most of the meetings are conducted in English, so even if your Japanese is not perfect, you’ll fit in just fine.
Understanding Diversity
Communication in an international team has its hiccups. When I first joined RESTAR, it took some time to adjust to the differing ways in which people express feedback / constructive criticism, but gradually I learned that nothing was personal and there were simply some cultural differences. Now, I appreciate those very differences and they often make for interesting conversations, especially when they involve food!
Mixed Language Communication
I speak both Japanese and English depending on the situation. It’s not uncommon for conversations to alternate between the two languages, which is an aspect I rather enjoy as it allows for more flavor when trying to express ideas in one language that are difficult to translate without losing nuance. Although, as a naturally fast speaker, I do occasionally need to actively slow down how quickly I talk.
Work From
Anywhere
Sales Development
Kousuke Usui
Lives in Kansai. His hobbies are weight training, futsal, and drinking!
Lives in Kansai. His hobbies are weight training, futsal, and drinking!
Full remote work from Kansai
I travel occasionally for our sales events and intercompany events, but other than that I work from home. Since I am involved in sales development and often have to make phone calls to explore new opportunities with new clients, I am very happy to be able to concentrate on cold callings in an environment that I am familiar with. Even though I am not immediately accessible to Tokyo, I am able to work as a member of the sales team without any problems at all.
Remote Communication
Since all communication is done via text chat and online meetings, I am more conscious than face-to-face communication to build trust, and I try to keep communication active by speaking up and getting feedback from the team. Whenever there is a work-related issue, I am able to instantly connect via chat or video call, so I am never isolated, even though we work remotely.
Developing a sense of belonging
Although I have had limited opportunities to meet my colleagues face-to-face since I joined the company, through regular meetings and 1-on-1s with my supervisor, I think I have also developed a sense of belonging to the sales team and RESTAR. I find it rewarding to be in an environment where I can challenge myself to do various things while repeating trial and error so that I can further develop the sales development team, which currently consists of two people.
Engineer
Genina Mercado
From the Philippines. Moved to Japan and joined RESTAR as our second QA engineer.
From the Philippines. Moved to Japan and joined RESTAR as our second QA engineer.
Making effective use of remote working
Although it is possible to commute to the office, I prefer to work remotely from home rather than to spend an hour travelling each way every day and consuming time and energy. I can allocate preparation and travel time to working from home, which allows me to be more mentally relaxed and concentrate on my work without being distracted by my surroundings.
Offline Communication
Despite the benefits of working remotely, there are still times when I want to meet and talk in person. On those days, I go to the office to meet and have lunch or work with my colleagues. Lunch gatherings and happy hours are organized as company events on a regular basis, so I join them when I can and enjoy chatting with my colleagues outside work.
Communication in a hybrid environment
Even in a hybrid and fully flexible working environment, we communicate closely through chat tools. Even though a large proportion of communication takes place online, I find that many team members and other colleagues are friendly and easy to ask questions to or seek advice from.
Work Life
Balance
Fiels Sales
Takahiro Kobayashi
He’s so passionate about raising his child that he says it’s his hobby. When he starts talking about his child, he tells us about one fun episode after another.
He’s so passionate about raising his child that he says it’s his hobby. When he starts talking about his child, he tells us about one fun episode after another.
Balancing work and childcare
My wife, who is a full-time housewife, mainly raises our child during the week, but it's very hard to spend all day with a small child. In order to reduce her workload as much as possible, on days when I work from home, I help with my child's morning preparations and feed my child during breaks. I start work every morning around 9.30am and finish around 6.30pm so I spend enough time with my family in the evenings.
Setting my own work schedule
I can adjust my working style according to the nature of my work. For example, I can work from home on days when I want to concentrate on making phone calls or preparing documents, and meet my colleagues in the office on days when I want to discuss business development ideas and such. I am able to set my work schedule and stick to it. I think this way of working is made possible by the high morale of each and every employee who is committed to the company.
Teamwork
Many members of the team juggle work and childcare but we are able to carry out our work efficiently by understanding and respecting each other's working hours and lifestyles. We also have a process in place so that if someone has a long holiday or an emergency absence such as sick leave, we can cover for each other without disrupting work. We have a team structure that can respond flexibly to a child's sudden fever or school events. We are a team where each member takes initiative and action while supporting each other.
Sales Development
Eri Otsuka
Working remotely from Aichi, a mother of two.
Raising my kids and building my career, both on my own terms.
Working remotely from Aichi, a mother of two.
Raising my kids and building my career, both on my own terms.
Building my own way of working, instead of fitting into a system
As a parent, I appreciate the support systems companies put in place for childcare. But children grow, and the rhythm of daily life changes with them — I always found it difficult to fit myself into a one-size-fits-all framework. What RESTAR has instead is a culture of autonomy, where you design how you work and take responsibility for it. Childcare happens to be my circumstance; everyone around me is adjusting their own way of working around their own life plans and circumstances.
Life stage isn't a career ceiling
At RESTAR, your life stage doesn't stand in the way of your career. Nobody is singled out for having young children, and there's a comfortable sense that having all kinds of people here is simply normal. I have never once felt a gap in the assignments I'm given or in how I'm evaluated. Because there's no brake quietly narrowing what's possible for you — no assumption that constraints make something out of reach — I've been able to take on a wider scope of work alongside my team, and to raise my hand for the things I want to try.
Beyond the "working mom" label: competing seriously, on my own terms
During the week I focus and deliver; on weekends I'm outdoors with my kids, which we all love. I can keep that rhythm because everyone here respects each other as professionals. Whatever your background, you're trusted to work independently and deliver results. If you want to work flexibly, in your own way, and still compete seriously, I think this is the best environment you could ask for.