Balancing Work and Family Life

Career Plans & Career Advancement

MOD and the USFJ have been making efforts for the employees to balance their work and personal lives.
Now we introduce a male employee who acquired Child Care Leave.

There is an internal recruiting system (※) and an internal training system for employees of U.S. Forces Japan.
Here, we interview a senior employee who has accumulated work experience using these systems.
* Internal recruiting: a recruiting system in which only the employees of the U.S. Forces Japan can apply for jobs.

At present, what kind of work do you do?
I work as a fire operator. We dispatch necessary emergency vehicles for urgent response to the aircraft taking off
and landing from/on Kadena Air Base, firefighting activity on base and emergency incidents of servicemembers
and civilians on and off base (including local people on base).

Q1.Please tell us the reason for working as anemployee for the U.S. Forces Japan

Balancing work and family life

When I was at university, I neglected job hunting and was a “freeter” (workingpart-time jobs), as we were called in the past. I came to learn of Japanese
recruitment at Yokota Air Base through an acquaintance and applied for a jobat the Kanto Lodge (※1) HotelI took Child Care Leave for 60 days as my 3rd child was born. As I have never taken
Child Care Leave before, I could spend valuable time seeing my child grow every
day and experiencing difficulty of childrearing and housework.I appreciate that mysupervisor approved my leave readily even though we work in shifts.
Though we work in shifts and have night duty and the actual work day is long, I feel
fulfilled that I have enough holidays and time to spend with my family.

Advice to who intends to be an USFJ employee
As we often work with US civilians and servicemembers on base, it may be pleasant
for those who like to utilize their language proficiency and those who like to be
familiar with different culture.
Moreover, enhancing one’s skill enables one to switch to various jobs, it is worthchallenging in this workplace.

USAF Kadena Air Base
18th Civil Engineer Squadron
Fire Alarm Dispatcher

Mr. Ota Yasutaka

One Shift Schedule (one shift in Night Duty) * There also is a shift in daytime.
Get upand have
Share
breakfast houseworkwith family
7:00

8:00

Play withchildren

9:00

Exercise
11:00

SleepLunch

12:00

Mail checkandTake a
Have abath with dinnerCommute respond toemergency
children with family
call

13:00

18:00

18:30

19:00

20:00

Break

21:00

Respond to emergency call

22:00

Hourly Pay Temporary Employment (HPT) System
HPT employees exist as a form of employment only in the IHA and are employed for not toexceed 1 year to do temporary duties or to support permanent employees.
Leave

Annual Leave, Child Medical Care Leave, etc. is granted.

Job Title

Counter Attendant, Cook, Sales Clerk, etc.

Employment Period
Workplace

Returnhome
8:00

9:00

You can become a permanent
employee by making use of theworking experiences as HPT!!
It is a perfect part-time job
opportunity for those studying
English in college! You can practiceEnglish conversation while working!!

The employment period is not to exceed one year. (The total employment
period counting from the date of initial hire does not exceed three years.)
Retail stores or food courts at US bases

Child Development Program Trainee (40ʼs)

I am pleased to learn American culture and approachthe children of native English speakers as I
communicate with the children every day.
I feel improvement of my English proficiency more thanever!

Janitor (60ʼs)
Counter Attendant (30ʼs)

I enjoy meeting young co-workers while I raise mychild.

Counter Attendant (20ʼs)

I could break through a psychological barrier
particular to Japanese people and enhance mycommunication skill.

There is a system that recognizes employees 4times a year and appreciate the accomplishmentof us working behind the scenes, I feel worthworking.

I had difficulties at first as I had little experience inEnglish conversation, but I learned gradually throughsupport from my co-workers.
I will do my best to improve myself.

Customer Service Clerk (50ʼs)

It is easier to take leave here than in Japanesecompanies.

Sign Machine Operator (40ʼs)

It is possible to select work hours flexibly. As
there are various job titles on base, if one feels“This job is unsuitable for me,” it is possible toshift to another job!

Sales Checker (60ʼs)“America in Japan” is to the point! There areac tive exchanges beyond age, gender andnational origins.

15Hotel Desk Clerk (20ʼs)

Counter Attendant (40ʼs)

It is possible to work at favorable
work hours for both my family andmy own career path.

Counter Attendant (50ʼs)

Welcoming customers at the friendship festival is oneof my favorite duties.

Balancing Work and Family Life / Hourly Pay Temporary Employment (HPT) System

We received classroom-style training for approximately one week to one
month, which included the fundamentals of procurement practices, laws,
accounting fundamentals, price analysis, and contract negotiations.

※1 A short-term accommodation facility in Yokota Air Base. Visitors are also allowed tostay here. Used for military business trips or transfers.

Q7.With respect to working at the U.S. military bases inJapan, when do you feel a sense of satisfaction?

Q2.How did you move from the ﬁrst job as a Hotel
Desk Clerk (IHA) to your current employment
in Contracting?

Our achievements may be considered to be those goods and services thatare enjoyed every day by the troops and organizations that request them.
In that sense, I think it is a serious job with not much visibility. I feel rewarded
when I can contract and deliver the goods and services requested by eachunit by the deadline according to the procedures established by law.

(After being employed at the Kanto Lodge, information about employment
within the bases became easily accessible (※2), and when I came to learn ofrecruitment for the Contracting Section, I applied for it with my colleague. It
was the time before the introduction of the Internet or SNS.

Camping with family

Q6.What kind of training did you attend?

※2 Refers to information about job notices posted in Yokota Air Base Personnel
Department.(internal recruiting).

Q3.What kind of job is your current Contracting
position?
I am involved in goods and services contract work with respect to requests
from all kinds of units at the base.
Since these costs are funded by the taxes of the American people, it isnecessary to procure the appropriate quality and quantity in accordance with
their intended use at a fair price, and, if the amount that has been settled by
the sales of each unit or by some of the welfare facilities is exceeded, it is arule to select the supplier through competitive bidding in accordance with thelaw.

Q4.I heard that English is indispensable for your job,
but how did you master English?
When I was working at the hotel office, I can say that I learned Basic English
conversational skills at work, as my duties included telephone coordination
numerous times every day as well as over-the-counter customer service.
M o r e ove r, u p o n m ov i n g t o t h e C o n t r a c t i n g S e c t i o n , d o c u m e n t s o nspecifications related to laws and regulations and construction-relatedmaterials became my educational resources. The creation of documents also
became my primary task.

Q8.Do you use your previous work experience in thecurrent job?
There are many chances to do so.
To handle such a wide variety of goods and services, imagination, market
research, and coordination of human relationships are also essential.

Q9.What are the good points of working at the U.S.
military bases in Japan?
It involves a short commute because the workplace and my residence arenearby.
There are no transfers.
I can contribute not only to the convenience of the U.S. military and civilians,
but also to the mutual business and employment opportunities between U.S
and Japanese companies that have contracts for receiving orders.

Q10.Finally, I would like anyone currently thinking ofworking at the U.S. military bases in Japan to saya few words
You go on to overseas business trip every day! There are various jobs forwhich you can use not only your English skills, but also your interests andexpertise. Please come to Yokota Air Base!!

Q5.You have accumulated a lot of working experience,but how did you improve your career?
Beginning with the newcomer training program when I first started my job, I
was sent for specific training over several years and my skill level improved(※3)
Also, as I was promoted, I acquired certification for being able to execute a
fixed amount of the U.S. budget after evaluation, and based on my work
experience and examination results, I was selected.
It goes without saying that I received help from my supervisor and colleagues
as well as senior employees.

※3 At that time, the management system involved going to multiple training classes
conducted at home and abroad to learn practical work in the department. This continued
for the initial 1‒2 years upon employment.
As for skills related to purchasing, it is essential to pass exams held after the respective
training and to obtain a course completion certiﬁcate by acquiring credits for areaspeciﬁcsubjects. In doing so, I could obtain Skill Level 1 and Level 2 certiﬁcations.

In ter v i ew
Yokota Air Base 374 th CONTRACTING SQ
Contractor / Negotiator (General)

Mr. Kiyotaka Keisuke▶Wo rk H i sto r y :Jan.1992
Apr.1993
Nov.1996

Feb.2002
Aug.2019

Hotel Desk Clerk
Management Intern
Purchasing andContract Specialist
Contract Specialist
Contractor / Negotiator(General)

Career Plans & Career Advancement

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