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Episodes
Formerly known as Raw Urban Mobile Podcast; Tokyo Speaks is a podcast that highlights Tokyo's international community. Cliff chats with featured guests about their careers, passions, and various topics related to life in Japan. Some episodes also include a guest co-host.
Episodes

Wednesday Oct 13, 2021
Social Taboos into Triumphs
Wednesday Oct 13, 2021
Wednesday Oct 13, 2021
Episode 98: Lia Camargo, Global Business Manager for Fermata Inc., joins the podcast to talk about the company's three-day Femtech conference in Tokyo which centers on women's health and wellness.
This women’s health innovation conference, titled Femtech Fes! 2021, is the first in Asia at this scale with a specific focus on emerging companies, showcasing the latest developments in direct-to-consumer products and medical devices that aim to improve the health conditions of women in various stages of their lives.
Tokyo Speak's guest host for this episode is Ingrid Saito Maciel. Ingrid is an educator at Ashinaga Foundation, youth ambassador at the Health and Global Policy Institute, and an activist for Internal Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP).
This episode is sponsored by Code Chrysalis - change your life and learn how to code!
Learn more about Fermata Inc. For more information on the upcoming Femtech Fes! (October 22-24) click here
Follow Lia Camargo on Instagram
Follow Ingrid Saito Maciel on Instagram

Thursday Apr 15, 2021
WomEnpowered International
Thursday Apr 15, 2021
Thursday Apr 15, 2021
Episode 97: In this episode, we feature Yuuki Nakao and Mahi Patki of WomEnpowered International (WE Int.). Yuuki, Co-founder of WE Int., and member Mahi, talk to us about the following:
- The mission and vision of WE Int.
- Their affiliation with University of Tokyo
- Awareness of gender disparity in Japan
- The group's bottom-up management style
- We Int.'s six-part event series on menstruation (virtual)
This episode is sponsored by Code Chrysalis - change your life and learn how to code!
Learn more at https://www.womenpoweredint.org/
Guest host: Seralyn Campbell
[Support Tokyo Speaks via Ko-fi]

Wednesday Apr 07, 2021
Learn Success Skills at Code Chrysalis
Wednesday Apr 07, 2021
Wednesday Apr 07, 2021
- The need for more software engineers in Japan
- Challenges of founding a startup in Japan
- Code Chrysalis courses and admission process
- What kind of people attend Code Chrysalis
- Coding bootcamps vs self-studying
- The Butterfly Fund Scholarship
- Part-time Immersive Bootcamp
This episode is sponsored by Code Chrysalis - change your life and learn how to code!
[Support Tokyo Speaks via Ko-fi]

Wednesday Jan 13, 2021
Empowering Men and Women in Japan
Wednesday Jan 13, 2021
Wednesday Jan 13, 2021
Episode 94: Dr. Jackie F. Steele (PhD) is a trilingual political scientist, author, and CEO & founder of consulting firm Enjoi D&I Consulting. In her practitioner-consultant role, she supports seniors leaders in Japan with high level D&I (Diversity and Innovation) business strategies on diverse talent mobilization and cutting edge corporate policy designs that drive innovation, competitive edge and inclusive corporate cultures. In this episode, we discuss the following:
- Enjoi D&I Consulting's mission and services
- Growing up with supportive parents
- Her introduction to Japanese culture
- Experiences in academia and public policy
- Working with local government in Nagano, Japan
- Empowering men and women in Japan
This episode is sponsored by Code Chrysalis - change your life and learn how to code!
Learn more at en-joi.com
[Support Tokyo Speaks via Ko-fi]

Tuesday Dec 15, 2020
Health Coaching & SOGO Fitness with Menya
Tuesday Dec 15, 2020
Tuesday Dec 15, 2020
Episode 93: Menya Hinga is Founder & CEO of MH Health Coaching and Co-Founder of SOGO Fitness and Co-Fit Movement. After 18 months of working as an English teaching assistant in Nagoya, Japan, Menya moved to Tokyo and transitioned to a career in fitness.
In this episode, we chat about Menya co-founding one of the biggest fitness communities in Tokyo, and his passion to help people from all over the world learn the skills and develop the habits necessary to achieve their fitness goals and create sustainable health.
This is the last episode of this year - more to come in 2021!
This episode is sponsored by Code Chrysalis - change your life and learn how to code!
[Follow Tokyo Speaks]
Instagram: @tokyospeaks_
Twitter: @tokyospeaks_
[Support via Ko-fi]

Wednesday Dec 02, 2020
Women's Health in Japan: fermata, Inc.
Wednesday Dec 02, 2020
Wednesday Dec 02, 2020
Episode 92: Amina Sugimoto is co-founder and CEO of fermata, Inc. Amina leads a community and start-up support ecosystem aimed to accelerate the access to knowledge and technologies developed for diversifying and liberating women's wellness. In this episode, we delve into the following topics:
- fermata's vision/mission
- Taboos related to women's health
- An emerging, global Femtech market
- Growing up in Tanzania/being educated abroad
- Health policy in Japan
- fermata's future goals & new store in Tokyo
This episode is sponsored by Code Chrysalis - change your life and learn how to code!
Featured guest: Amina Sugimoto (Co-founder/CEO of fermata Inc.)
Guest host: Yan Fan (Co-founder/CTO of Code Chrysalis)
[Follow Tokyo Speaks]
Instagram: @tokyospeaks_
Twitter: @tokyospeaks_
[Support via Ko-fi]

Thursday Oct 22, 2020
Life & Music: A Chat with Crystal Kay
Thursday Oct 22, 2020
Thursday Oct 22, 2020
Episode 89: Singer Crystal Kay released her debut single "Eternal Memories" at 13 years old and went on to make nine top-10 albums (including compilations) over the span of two decades. July of this year marked her 21st Anniversary in the music industry and Crystal joins us on Tokyo Speaks to talk about her life and career, as well as her goals going forward. We discuss the following topics:
- Starting her music career at 13 years old
- Collaborations with Japanese Hip Hop group, M-Flo
- Pursuing a music career in the U.S.
- Finding herself in NYC & returning to Japan
- Interviewing Alicia Keys & Janet Jackson
- Black Lives Matter Tokyo & Naomi Osaka
This episode is sponsored by Code Chrysalis - change your life and learn how to code!
[Crystal Kay]
Check out music by Crystal Kay here
[Guest host: J'Nique Nicole]
Check out music by J'Nique Nicole here
[Social Links & RSS]
RSS Feed: https://www.tokyospeaks.com/feed.xml
Instagram: @tokyospeaks_
Twitter: @tokyospeaks_
[Support via Ko-fi]

Wednesday Oct 07, 2020
One Woman's Passion for Social Impact
Wednesday Oct 07, 2020
Wednesday Oct 07, 2020
Episode 88: Angela Ortiz is the founder of the volunteer-led nonprofit, Place to Grow, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Senior Manager at Adidas Japan. In this episode, we discuss the following topics with Angela:
- Growing up in Japan's countryside as a Colombian-American with her parents and 10 siblings
- Becoming a mother at 19 years old
- Finding impetus in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011.
- Pursuing a career in social impact
- Creating her nonprofit Place to Grow
- Writing her first book on social impact
This episode is sponsored by Code Chrysalis - change your life and learn how to code!
[Place to Grow]
Place to Grow: 8 principles that will make you an effective leader in social impact
by Angela Ortiz
[Guest host: Oulimata Gueye]
[Social Links & RSS]
RSS Feed: https://www.tokyospeaks.com/feed.xml
Instagram: @tokyospeaks_
Twitter: @tokyospeaks_
[Support via Ko-fi]

Tuesday Sep 22, 2020
Black-Owned Anime Studio Makes History in Japan
Tuesday Sep 22, 2020
Tuesday Sep 22, 2020
Episode 87: In 2016, Arthell Isom and his twin brother, Darnell Isom, founded D'ART Shtajio Inc. - the first foreign-owned anime studio in Japan. Arthell and his studio has worked on projects for Netflix, Grammy Award-winning music artist, The Weeknd, and was recently featured in Pharrell and Jay-Z's "Entrepreneur" music video. In this episode we discuss the following topics:
- Arthell's love for illustration and background painting for anime
- Studying at the Academy of Arts University in San Francisco
- Black culture & anime
- Working on projects for The Weeknd
- Being featured in Pharrell and Jay-Z's music video
- Working for Ghost in the Shell Art Director, Hiromasa Ogura
- Founding in his own anime studio in Japan
This episode is sponsored by Code Chrysalis - change your life and learn how to code!
[Follow D'ART Shtajio]
[Guest host: Danté Carver]
[Guest host: Mega Robinson]
[Social Links & RSS]
RSS Feed: https://www.tokyospeaks.com/feed.xml
Instagram: @tokyospeaks_
Twitter: @tokyospeaks_
[Support via Ko-fi]

Tuesday Jun 16, 2020
Cyberpunk Girl: Using Tech to Inspire
Tuesday Jun 16, 2020
Tuesday Jun 16, 2020
Episode 83: Steffie Harner is a Software Engineer at Code Chrysalis; Co-Founder of Startup Lady Japan; and Cyberpunk content creator/influencer. Steffie came to Japan simply to fulfill her childhood dreams, but a series of events led her to co-founding a nonprofit organization for female entrepreneurs and a new career in software engineering. In this episode, we chat with Steffie about the following:
- Co-founding Startup Lady Japan
- Becoming a software engineer
- Her life and career in Silicon Valley
- Her love for Cyberpunk and digital content creation
[Follow Steffie Harner]
[Guest host: Yan Fan]
@yanarchy (Twitter) @yanarchy (Instagram)
[Code Chrysalis]
Want to learn how to code? Sign up for Code Chrysalis' Foundations course by August 31 and mention "Tokyo Speaks" for a 15% discount!
[Social Links & RSS]
RSS Feed: https://www.tokyospeaks.com/feed.xml
Instagram: @tokyospeaks_
Twitter: @tokyospeaks_
[Support via Ko-fi]

Saturday Apr 18, 2020
COVID-19 Tokyo: Community Check-In
Saturday Apr 18, 2020
Saturday Apr 18, 2020
Episode 82: Returning guests, Robin Lewis, Kayoko Hirano, and Yan Fan, join Tokyo Speaks remotely to talk about how they're adjusting to this new reality caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Although we all are dealing with a global pandemic that has impacted every aspect of our lives, Robin, Kayako, and Yan share some ways that we can still be productive, healthy, and helpful to others in their time of need.
Read these helpful blog posts by Robin, Kayoko, and Yan on Medium:
10 Ways to Support Coronavirus Relief in Japan
by Robin Lewis (Co-Founder of Social Innovation Japan & mymizu)
5 Ways to Support Your Immune System During the Pandemic
by Kayoko Hirano (Certified Obesity Prevention Health Coach)
Job Hunting in a Global Pandemic and Recession
by Yan Fan (Co-Founder and CTO of Code Chrysalis)
[Special Shout Outs]
Thanks to Guidable for featuring Tokyo Speaks! Check out Guidable Jobs and Guidable Media.
Episode 82 background music by Rhyming Gaijin
[Social Links & RSS]
RSS Feed: https://www.tokyospeaks.com/feed.xml
Instagram: @tokyospeaks_
Twitter: @tokyospeaks_
[Support via Ko-fi]

Tuesday Apr 07, 2020
Forging Your Own Path
Tuesday Apr 07, 2020
Tuesday Apr 07, 2020
Episode 81: Amber Chook is Co-founder of Zebra Global and Founder of TEDxRoppongi (an independently-organized TEDx event in Tokyo). Amber moved to Mie, Japan from Harbin, China at the age of 15, and she was placed in a high school that had low expectations for its graduates.
Instead of following the standard path for women in the area, getting married and becoming a housewife, Amber pushed aside her high school responsibilities and religiously studied English on her own; then eventually pursued her college education at Hosei University in Tokyo.
In this episode, we discuss topics such as:
- Growing up in China and Japan
- Her interest and career in Blockchain technology
- Women empowerment in the tech/fin-tech sector
- Her passion for social impact
[Follow Amber Chook]
[Amber Chook's Book Recommendations]
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
[Co-host]
Jasmine Griner a.k.a Enlightize - @enlightize
[Social Links & RSS]
RSS Feed: https://www.tokyospeaks.com/feed.xml
Instagram: @tokyospeaks_
Twitter: @tokyospeaks_
[Support via Ko-fi]