New assistants

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Mr. Tada and other men were considerate enough not to keep me in an assistant position forever. He told me to get a bookkeeping certificate to prove I have some […]

Miss Nagai the killjoy

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The fellow assistant, Miss Yoshino, left the company and was replaced by Miss Nagai. She was 28 years old, small-build and round-faced, and while she wasn’t bad to look at, […]

Subsequent days and years

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The next morning, I learned that airplanes were grounded in and out of the US. Had our return flight been several hours later, we would have been stuck in Guam. […]

September 2001

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Early in September 2001, my sister and I went to Guam for a long weekend. My sister won the trip for two in a ruffle at the bar. She said […]

Future of assistants

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Mr. Tada’s team supported the management of subsidiaries and affiliate companies. The responsibility ranged from budget planning to financing to general managerial decision-making support. They required sophisticated business skills that […]

Shame over empathy

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When I got home that evening, I called my parents. I cried and ranted about the injustice done by my bosses and my undeservedness of such treatment. It was intentional […]

Terrible boss

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After a few months working in the IR department, I realized how troubled Mr. Iwata’s personality was. He was arrogant and boastful about his achievements, but that wasn’t uncommon among […]

Turn of the table

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My sister broke up with Nobu shortly after I returned from the US. One day I entered the living room where they were talking, and she asked me to excuse […]

Vengeance

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I initially considered Jon as another Noah, whom I also saw at the time. With his privilege and power, Jon introduced me to an illusion of the world where I […]

Jon the investor

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After several months of reporting daily stock prices, I was given a chance to sit with Mr. Iwata to meet with investors. All I had to do was to take […]