At university, in addition to joining an English language club and polishing my language skills, I interacted with overseas people by working as a volunteer interpreter at numerous events, etc. I retained my interest in working in a job that involved overseas interactions even after commencing in Kawasaki City. However, since I worked in the sector of childcare in Kawasaki, I had never had an opportunity to work in the sector of international relations.
While wishing to work in the sector of international relations, I found an opportunity to work in the International Affairs Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (In charge of Asian Network of Major Cities 21(ANMC21)) for a year. I called up my courage and decided to take up the challenge.

ANMC21 is an inter-city network comprised of 13 member cities throughout Asia. These cities engage in a range of joint projects encompassing categories such as industry and the environment. While I worked in Kawasaki City, a range of my work is limited with to relatively defined categories. Therefore, through working in the ANMC21 I faced a number of experiences that I previously had known nothing about.
For example, I visited several embassies and gave a presentation in English on subjects I had only recently learned myself. Additionally, I took an overseas business trip to Hanoi in Vietnam on the purpose of offering support to small and medium-sized businesses from Tokyo participating in the international exhibition.^*

^*The following link is to an article about the Hanoi trip.
http://www.asianhumannet.org/english/newsletter/201311/2.html
In this article, I would like to tell the tasks pertaining to the Asian Human Resources Fund which I have concerned all over the year.

1. Advanced Research External Evaluation Committee Management

In order to implement a policy of developing Asian human resources who can shoulder the future of Asia, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) established the "Asian Human Resources Fund." Using this fund, highly talented students from throughout Asia are accepted as the students of Tokyo Metropolitan University (TMU). These students carry out the Leading-edge advanced researches (hereinafter "Advanced Research") that can contribute to both Asian development and the resolution of problems confronting Asian cities. In order to confirm that the researches are being conducted in accordance with the objective of the fund, the TMG External Evaluation Committee (hereinafter the "External Committee") evaluates every advanced research project.
I was entrusted with organizing the External Committee meeting. In this work, I made a preparation needed for holding the committee meeting, and attended the researchers who make presentations in the committee meeting.

Immediately after commencing these duties, I found difficulty in distinguishing between matters for which careful preparation was necessary, and ones for which efficiency was required. Therefore, I often paid little attention to matters about which I should have been much concerned. My superior sometimes noticed this and warned "We should pay attention to this committee to the full, because we ask for the precious time of the committee members who can be described as "Representatives of the great brains of Japan".
The External Committee can greatly influence the future course of the researches. Based on evaluations delivered by the committee, the budget of the research could be cut. Sometimes, the severe decision to discontinue the research should be made.
Accordingly, in spite of their daily busy researches, the researchers make careful preparation so that they can fully explain their achievement to the committee, no matter how long it takes. Therefore, as the Secretariat, we should make meticulous preparations with respect to everything from preparing materials to controlling presentation time, so that suitable evaluation is conducted on all of the researches in the limited time.
Furthermore, as members of the External Committee are representatives of leading researchers, some researchers from the same field of the committee member feel nervousness on simply hearing the names of them. The researchers feel stressed so much on making presentation and answering questions in face of the members of the External Committee.
Obviously, we, the Secretariat who are responsible for conducting the overall meeting, also experience stress. However, this cannot be compared to what presenters feel. The presenters could be extremely nervous just before their presentation. As the one who is responsible for supporting the presenters, I should make effort as much as possible to ensure that any problem wouldn't happen in the progress of the event. This helps make an environment in which presenters could concentrate. I realized that the responsibility I shouldered was very important and I was devoted as hard as possible to the preparation for External Committee.

In the day of the committee meeting, the progress went much quicker than we had planned and it happened that some evaluation was about to finish in spite that the next presenter didn’t arrive at the venue yet. However, assuming this circumstance, I asked the presenters to arrive at the minimum 30 minutes before their presentation times. In addition, I also noticed that even the situation might happen where presenters might be asked to deliver presentations immediately after their arriving.  Therefore, despite this happening, I can conclude the meeting without any big problems.  Afterwards, I felt a great sense of achievement when my superior complimented me on my “solid preparations.”

The External Evaluation Committee meeting was the first event for me in this year working for ANMC21. By bracing myself for it, and working carefully thereafter, I was able to apply myself successfully to the succeeding events.

2. Celebrating the Conclusion of the Courses by Overseas Students of TMU

The TMG celebrates the completion of doctoral studies by overseas students accepted by the TMU via the Asian Human Resources Fund. Such celebrations are carried out in recognition of the long-term research activities undertaken by the students. In 2013, 13 students completed their doctoral studies. Therefore, on September 11th, we held the courtesy visit of these students to the Vice Governor of Tokyo and other TMG officials and casual celebratory party afterwards.

It was initially planned that the Vice Governor makes conversations with the students. However, it was very difficult to create enough time for the Vice Governor to speak with each individual student. Thus, I asked one of the students to make a speech on behalf of all.
The student I asked to make the speech was Mr. Arief Yudhanto (Arief-san) from Indonesia. He was engaged in the research concerning the application of composite materials in fields of aerospace vehicle. As making a speech in front of the Vice Governor of Tokyo is a very high-pressure role, I worried whether he would decline my asking. However, Arief-san gave a very positive response to me saying "Definitely allow me to do it." His response gave me a relief and enabled me to face the conference with peace in my mind.

Concerning the room where the courtesy visit to the Vice Governor took place, it differed from an office in that the ceiling was high set and the external appearance rather imposing. The proceedings started out in a very somber manner, corresponding to the solemn impression of the room.
In the proceedings, I had to pass a microphone to Arief-san for his speech. However, when I was about to do so, the Vice Governor passed over his own microphone. We, the staffs, were frozen momentarily for confronting the situation which we hadn't expected at all. However, after that the Vice Governor saying "Please use mine" with smiling on his face, it was soon found that he had done this to reduce Arief-san's stress. After this turn of events, the atmosphere became very much more relaxed.
In seeing that the Vice Governor acted of his own initiative in displaying a sense of hospitality, I was very much impressed.

Normally, Arief-san is a very calm person; however, during his speech, I noticed that his expression became the epitome of concentration. The speech itself started with him thanking all the people in Japan who had shown him kindness. Next, he moved on to discuss the content of his research and his future hopes. Finally, he closed the speech by saying, "in order that Japan and Asian countries develop an even better future together, it will be necessary to strengthen even further the ties among us." In addition that the speech conveyed the serious ideas of Arief-san, it was also suitable in terms of him speaking as a representative of students to whom responsibility for Asia's future development falls.

At the celebratory party afterwards, we had planned a surprise. With the party in full swing and the students beginning to relax, to each we presented a commemorative photograph of the courtesy visit that had just occurred. Immediately after the visit was over, we printed the photos of the visit. As the students probably expected that the photos would be "posted to them at a later date," they seemed both very much surprised and very happy to receive them. Among the students, there were even some that exclaimed, "Japan is really great!" In seeing their happiness, I was very pleased that I could be convinced that our Omotenashi (way of conveying hospitality) surely moved the students.

3. Looking Back Over the Past Year

Especially in early days of this year, in terms of the duty of the public sector related to international affairs, I had the image of government administrative units in different countries making decisions that would be of benefit to each city involved. Therefore, I must admit that I was somewhat perplexed that TMG would use its tax money to have overseas students from Asia accepted into TMU. While it sounds beautiful hearing the term, "contributing to Asia," it might also give impression to someone that TMG is using money merely for the benefit of other cities.

However, just as I was wrestling with such ideas, I was given the opportunity to visit a TMU professor involved in the Advanced Research Program. This allowed me to discuss the development of Asian human resources with him and I heard the following opinion: "Concerning taking time to develop these Asian exchange students, it isn't the case that such students will be of immediate benefit to Tokyo tomorrow. However, in the future they will return to their countries and become leaders of there. At such time, the network that Tokyo enjoys with such people will be of great significance." On hearing this, I realized that what my job pursued was not benefits that were immediately laid out in front of me. Rather, I once again was conscious that this project represents the basis of developing a society that in future carries with it a WIN-WIN relationship for both Tokyo and Asia.

I was able to hold such a view through the work of the External Committee meeting and the celebratory event for overseas students of TMU, where I had steadily dealt with each low-profile task and interacted with the wide range of people involved in implementing and enacting the Asian Human Resources Fund. And I could find my own ideas as to the development of Asian human resources. In that I was able to develop my own answers to those questions that confronted me during the course of my work; I believe that this offered me a very valuable experience.

Even after I return to working for Kawasaki City, I will not forget what I learned through the work of ANMC21. Furthermore, I will work hard to create a society in which Kawasaki and Tokyo, as well as Asia, can all develop together.