Sagara Miori - Expanding Horizons

When the regulations were lifted on Tuesday, people turned up at airports to greet the first tourists pouring in from abroad.

We chose to land today because of the restrictions being lifted.

So we came just to land today.

Obviously, Japan was somewhere that I wanted to go to, so it's exciting that it's now open.

The government removed its cap on the number of daily arrivals.

And it no longer requires visitors to join group tours.

Visa requirements have been waived for tourists from 68 countries and territories.

Travelers are still required to be vaccinated three times or test negative for the coronavirus.

This hotel in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, is one of many welcoming back foreign visitors.

Hi, good afternoon, how are you?

Staff are polishing up their English skills, which they had few chances to use when the number of foreign guests plunged during the pandemic.

Let me check your reservation with you.

"Saying 'let's check together' sounds more natural."

This outlet mall near an airport outside Tokyo is also eager to receive foreign customers.

The operator is urging more stores to offer duty-free shopping.

"We are asking stores to be ready, so they can offer a good service when we have more and more customers from abroad."

The weakening Japanese currency has dealt a blow to the national economy.

But the plus side is that a cheap yen can pull in tourists.

As the tourism industry recovers, there are hopes it can help the overall economy.

"The relaxation of border controls is meant to further facilitate international travel and business, while taking advantage of a weak yen."

The government wants annual spending by foreign tourists to hit 5 trillion yen, about 34 billion dollars.

That is even higher than the figure from 2019, when Japan was enjoying a tourism boom before the pandemic.

One economist says to reach that goal, Japan needs a long-term strategy.

"For Japan to get more visitors from around the globe than before the pandemic, the government needs to draw up a new plan, so that businesses can believe that tourist numbers will continue to increase,

even if a resurgence of the virus slows growth temporarily."

Japan's decision to almost completely shut down its borders over a long period took a heavy toll on tourism.

Now, many in the industry say they will not miss out on this opportunity.

Kato Atsuhide has been busy promoting his sake overseas.

Today, exports account for nearly half of all his company's sales.

This limited edition lists for about 100 dollars per bottle, but in China and America, it can fetch up to 2,000 dollars.

Even empty bottles turn up on auction sites...

making it possible for counterfeiters to refill a bottle with cheaper sake and resell it as new.

"There is no telling how much revenue we have lost so far.

It could run into the millions of dollars."

The brewery adopted a solution developed by a tech company in Tokyo.

The usual paper seal found on a bottle of sake is given a modern update with an IC tag.

The tag holds a serial number and indicates whether the bottle is sealed or not.

It is scanned with a smartphone that connects to a server.

Then the type of sake and other information is sent back to the phone.

A bottle that has been opened once has its status permanently changed in the server.

The IC tags cost more than 1 dollar each, but the company that developed them has had inquiries from more than 50 other sake breweries.

"I believe we're boosting brands and credibility in the products themselves, by providing evidence that proves authenticity."

There is another way to tag products that is smaller, and even edible.

A smartphone app is used to scan a pill and pull up information about the medicine.

The surface of the pill is coated with tiny tags developed by an American venture company.

Each tag is just a tenth of a millimeter across, but they are identical in shape.

The shape of the tag pulls up information from a database, such as the name of the drug, use and dosage.

The tags are made of non-toxic silicon dioxide, also known as silica.

Once approved by the government, the technology can be used for food traceability.

"If you leave the tag in a completely undetectable location, it cannot be stolen.

I want to make an infallible method of preventing fake products."

The tag powder can be added to a product for less than one cent, and can even be used on meat or fruit.

These technologies are helping companies protect their unique brands and products.

For the month of October, Biz Stream is featuring a series of interviews with women who are making waves in the business world.

Today, we feature Sagara Miori, the president and CEO of a successful IT company, that prides itself on creating an open and accepting work place.

"I want to create a place where people can feel comfortable in being themselves, and in control of where they go in life."

Find out how Sagara has built an industry-leading company by empowering her staff through what she calls "respect-driven management."

Hello!

In June of this year, a special IT job fair was held in Tokyo for Ukrainian evacuees who were looking for employment.

At Baobab's booth, prospective recruits were given a chance to sit down at a computer and try their hand at annotation work.

All 28 who participated were hired, and are now working as annotators for the company.

"I've heard that many of them have a high level of digital literacy, so I am hoping that it will be a win-win relationship for our new Ukrainian staff and for our company."

In the 12 years since Sagara first started the company in 2010, it has grown rapidly and now has over 1,200 annotators from 22 different countries.

With its work force spread out all over the world, the majority of its employees work remotely.

Baobab's list of clientele has also grown in size and diversity.

From start-ups to global conglomerates, it has provided annotation services to some of the world's most technologically advanced companies and institutions,

including Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University.

In 2020, this employment support facility for people with disabilities began a relationship with Baobab.

Through it, several people have been hired as annotators, like 19-year-old "Ay" who started in March of this year.

Because she struggles with communicating directly with others, she says she felt working alone on a computer might be easier for her.

"I originally trained to work in housekeeping, but had trouble keeping up with everything they were asking me to do.

That's when I realized that if I did desk work on a PC, I wouldn't need to worry about that sort of thing."

In order to become an annotator, prospective employees must first pass a training course.

In Ay's case, she trained for 6 months before being given the greenlight.

Baobab also provides employees with a detailed training manual.

In addition to showing how to properly "box" and label images, it also contains the rules and methods necessary to satisfy the company's strict standards.

For example, this red square placed around the strawberry is too large, and will contain large amounts of unnecessary information.

A properly-sized box, like the yellow one, should tightly enclose the target object on as many sides as possible.

From training to actual annotation work, Baobab's supervisors complete quality checks to ensure that everything is done to company standards.

When "Ay" first started training, she had an accuracy rate of around 40%.

However, after getting used to the process and learning from her supervisors, she has raised her accuracy rate to nearly 90%.

Despite requiring high levels of concentration, "Ay" is now regularly putting in 4-hour shifts for the company.

"At first, I was a bit worried that I might not be able to become an annotator, because some of the content was pretty challenging.

But, as I gradually got used to doing it, I became more and more confident that I could handle this kind of work."

Nakamura Mamoru says working for a company like Baobab has given the workers at his facility a sense of confidence.

"AI technology is used all around the world, and its importance is only going to grow.

Since they're all aware of that, they can take pride in what they're doing and really enjoy the job."

"This isn't a job we just offer to anyone who wants it.

We still have strict standards that need to be met.

But if someone can come in and perform at a high level and find joy and satisfaction in the work they're doing, we couldn't be happier to have them."

Sagara believes that diversity is the primary source of her company's success.

She's held onto this belief since her first experience in working at a Japanese company.

After graduating from university, she was hired by a large trading company.

When speaking with one of her supervisors, she soon realized that stereotypes and pre-conceived notions could prevent women from advancing in their careers.

"During one of our first orientation meetings, they divided the newly hired male and female employees into separate groups.

It was then that a male manager told us, 'You all should strive to work for 4 years, collect your annual bonus, and leave the company to get married and have children.'

When I heard that, I felt extremely sad and hopeless.

I thought, 'Oh, so I get no say in this? My life is already decided for me?'" After that experience, Sagara now actively seeks to hire women in situations that other employers might avoid.

Like Hashimoto Noriko, who is currently living in Kyoto with her husband and two young children.

She does her work whenever she's not busy taking care of her kids, and says she's lucky to be able to work from home.

"It's time to start our daily meeting."

Around 13 years ago, Hashimoto was working at a major financial firm in Tokyo.

After rising through the ranks, she was offered an executive level position at the company.

However, around the same time, her husband received a job offer he couldn't refuse in Kyoto, so she was forced to turn down the position and give up her career, in order to go with him.

"I thought my working days were over a long time ago, but finding this job with Baobab made me realize that I might just be able to make a comeback.

From now on, I want to keep working and use this opportunity to see how much further I can actually take my career."

Baobab's company motto is: "The World We Envision⁠

A society where everyone is accepted as they are, and choices in life are unrestricted."

"Feeling that you are needed by someone, or that you are an important part of society leads to having more self-confidence and a sense of purpose in life.

I think there are a lot of people out there that, despite having certain limitations, still have a lot of potential.

I think it's a shame that many of them aren't even given a chance to show what they can do.

That's why I make it a point to provide them with just that - an opportunity to prove themselves and to thrive."