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WMU’s Japan liaison officer finds many parallels between life in Kalamazoo and Tokyo

Although Jin Abe now lives in Tokyo Japan, his lifestyle has remained remarkably similar to the days he was working as an international student advisor at Western Michigan University in 1998.

Jin Abe, second from right, is WMU's Japan liaison officer

“For instance, it used to take 20 minutes from my home in Portage to my WMU office” Abe said. “Now my drive from home takes 15 minutes to Hitotsubashi University. I would have never expected that I would be driving a shorter distance from home to work in Tokyo.”

Abe is the Japan liaison officer for WMU, marketing the University in Japan, recruiting Japanese students to attend Western, maintaining relationships with Japanese exchange schools and study-abroad institutions, as well as coordinating WMU alumni activities in Tokyo and other Japanese metro areas.

He first came to the United States after nearly failing a Japanese high school in the 1980s. The United States’ education system resurrected Abe and he eventually earned a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota. After graduation, he went to work as a marketing specialist for IBM in Japan, where he was making good money but was unfulfilled in his work. Searching for a career that was more meaningful, Abe came to realize that what fulfilled him was helping people grow, not companies.

A ruptured Achilles tendon from playing flag football and three months of sick leave from the high-powered job in the mid 1990s amounted to a reality check for Abe. He landed at Western Michigan University as a master’s student in 1996. He became an advisor in the Office of International Student Services in 1998, where he worked until 2005, and earned a master’s degree in counselor education in 1999.

His current home, an international residence hall for students and families from four universities, also reminds him of WMU; he lives there with with his wife, Mami, and daughters, Jun, 9, and Mei, 7.

“Our kids are interacting in school daily with children from China, Mongolia, Korea, and Malaysia,” he said. “It’s very much like the days when I was living in the Stadium Drive Apartments, except my kids do not have to speak in a foreign language.”

But there are more parallels. “There is a long nature trail that extends for 13 miles right next to my residence hall. It’s like living next to the Kal-Haven Trail in the middle of Tokyo. And my apartment is a minute away from a sport gym that the university owns, so I might as well say I live next to Student Recreation Center as well,” Abe said.

Most importantly, he continues to officiate at American football games in Japan, a passion he discovered in 2001 in Michigan working high school games.

“When I started, I bet there were a few people who doubted whether I knew football well enough to officiate—how often do you see Asian-looking football refs in Michigan?” Abe joked. “But by 2005 I pretty much got to know most of the coaches and athletic directors and fellow officials in southwest Michigan.”

Jine Able with Kalamzoo Football Officials

Jin Abe on far right, with fellow football officials in Kalamazoo

Back in Japan where American football is as rare as seeing a cricket match in the United States, Jin feared that this could be the end of his hobby, but he is now serving as an official at college and semi-pro football games every fall in Tokyo.

“Again, my perception about living in Tokyo proved to be wrong,” he said. “Just as in study abroad, you never know until you experience life in a foreign land first-hand.”

Up until 2005, Abe’s main profession was providing advising and counseling to WMU international students on career, personal, and social development, as well as concerns related to U.S. immigration regulations. Now, as an assistant professor with their College of Business at Hitotsubashi University, he is still helping international students in Japan.

“I advise international students and Japanese students, supervise student activities in international residence halls, teach intercultural adjustment and understanding, and coordinate short-term study abroad programs,” he said. “That pretty much parallels what I have done at WMU and/or at professional associations.”

When Jin went back to Japan in 2005 for family reasons he treated himself to a one-year retreat to allow time to adjust to his new life, then one of his professional colleagues in Japan introduced him to his current position.

“At first I did not think it would be a good fit,” he said. “A national university and the teaching position—the image just did not fit my personality. But I went in for an interview and found the university and the living environment to be very compatible with his lifestyle. I learned national universities can offer a wide variety of campus cultures. My perception of Hitotsubashi faculty and staff members is that they are very laid back and approachable. Again, this reminds so much of my interactions with WMU folks.”

Being able to retain a WMU affiliation allows Abe to meet a wide variety of people that he might otherwise not see, including WMU alumni in Japan.

“Last March, we had a big get-together of WMU alumni in Tokyo,” he said. “It attracted our graduates from the 1960s all the way to 2006. It was a big reunion for many of us. I got to renew ties with some of our old students. In fact, some of them are now helping to recruit students at study-abroad fairs in Tokyo and Osaka. I am very thankful to be able to retain my association with WMU.”

Abe’s role as WMU Japan alumni liaison extends far beyond his everyday work. “I am going to Malaysia in December because a former student invited me to her wedding,” he said. “I will be seeing former student workers in my office and get to experience an intercultural wedding. The personal relationships I develop through my work are the reasons I continue to be involved in the field of international education.”