At YKK, which has its headquarters in Japan, when you are assigned abroad, you are required to work differently. The Thai people I worked with were always cheerful, laughing while making sales calls and leaving the office on time even during a busy season.

As you see, work style in Thailand is very different from Japan. A Japanese staff assigned to Thailand told me that it is important to always appreciate the opportunity to work in Thailand, respect the national character and culture of Thai people and to share their mindset in doing work. I was impressed that if you are assigned to Thailand, a variety of tasks increases and you can do more tasks on your own judgement. Also, in addition to the specialization in Japan, you are able to do tasks in other areas if you wish.

Bangkok, where the office of YKK is located, is a very developed city. It has trains every 5 minutes, busy traffic, huge condos and shopping malls. There were convenience store and 24-hour supermarket close to the dormitory I stayed in, so my stay was very convenient.  In addition, since there are many Japanese companies in Thailand, I became friends with the Japanese who work at a local Japanese kindergarten. It was fun to get to know other Japanese people who work in Thailand.

In terms of food, I was very satisfied with authentic Thai food to which YKK Bangkok office staff treated me. And since there are so many Japanese restaurants in Bangkok, I could go to those restaurants whenever I missed Japanese food, so I had no problem with food. On the way to the office from the dormitory I stayed in, which is 4km distance, there were more than 50 Japanese restaurants. In the environment like this, I think I will be able to work and live not only for a few years but also for a longer period like 5 or 10 years with no problem.

After I experienced this internship program, my dream to work abroad became concrete and my ambition for it got stronger. I recommend this YKK internship program to those who are interested in going abroad and especially Asia.

(Updated: December 8, 2017)