I started by working in product promotion for 18 months, and then moved on to sales for the next five years.

I really value relationships with people. Even though it only takes a moment to meet someone new, it could lead to a lifelong friendship. That's why I always do my best for those I meet as a part of my work; if you make an effort to really understand each other, a lot of interesting conversations can arise, and that can lead to sales. Even when I make mistakes, it's still important for me to be myself. This is the kind of sales style I'm committed to.

But always striving to do my very best can be tiring. Rather than dealing with stress on my own, I like to talk with various co-workers and friends. Since I am also the type of person who can forget his worries by getting a good night's sleep, I'm able to stay balanced. Practices like these and positive thinking help me a lot.

At first, all I felt was anxiety: they didn't understand Japanese, and I didn't understand Chinese - it was a big problem! So I began by being the first one to get to work in the morning, and greeted everyone in Chinese as they arrived. Gradually, I got used to thesituation, and was able to communicate in writing. I also tried to read the emotions on people's faces in order to better communicate. Eventually, I went out with other staff to shopping areas and visited each shop in order to explain our products and take orders. It was really quite a humbling experience. We often forget that the company began with this kind of basic sales work, so I am really grateful to have had the opportunity to do that.

One day at a meeting, my boss suddenly turned to me and said, "Tell me your dream!" So I told him about my experience in swimming and said, "If we bring together all the Otsuka employees from around Japan who have swimming experience, we could win a national competition! It would also be great PR for the company. Can you help me make this happen?" First thing the next morning, he sent me an email saying that he was ready to support the swimming club proposal, and encouraged me to go for it. That's how the Otsuka Pharmaceutical Swimming Club got started.

Seven years later, our swimming club has now grown to 25 members. Initially, there was a sense that the club might be dissolved at any time if we did not produce results. Rather than discouraging us, this only served to make us more focused and determined. We went into the competitions with each member having his or her own personal goals. As a result, both our men's and women's teams won first place at the Tokyo Corporate Swimming Championship 2012, and the women's team won first place at the Japan Corporate Swimming Championship 2012. These result were better than my wildest dreams, so I am very glad to have been a part of the club.

I am now working in the National Retail Accounts Department, which sells to companies such as nationwide convenience store chains and volume retailers. I am responsible for certain convenience store clients, and help to create sales strategies and take various initiatives to sell Otsuka products and maximize sales. Since this job is different from my previous sales work, I feel as though I am starting over in Tokyo. There is a fair amount of pressure, but I am really enjoying the challenge of my new job.
Sometimes I get discouraged, but I talk with other team members and benefit from their support. They are always positive, which really helps. The members of my team are motivated by challenging goals and have inspired me to take on challenges in the same positive way. They provide me with all the encouragement I need.

The company has a lot of products that I can recommend with confidence; each product has been carefully developed, and is backed by scientific data, with a lot of them built on our expertise as a pharmaceutical company. Life here is really hard work, but people do not give up, no matter how hard it gets. The company is the same: Otsuka Pharmaceutical is persistently loyal to the products it introduces. It keeps on explaining and selling a product persistently so that more people will understand it. This approach is hard to find in any another company.

I like to roll up my sleeves and work hard with others, and I want to become the kind of mentor who shares the joy that comes from a hard day's work.