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President aims to turn social dissonance into dynamic diversity in Japan

President, general
counsel, director

Rogers taps ACCJ’s energy
for a sustainable future

Name: Jenifer Rogers

Title: President of the American
Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ)
URL: www.accj.or.jp
Title 2: General Counsel Asia at
AsurionURL 2: www.asurion.com
Hometown: Midland, Michigan
Years in Japan: 16

Leaders & Readers
JOE MUNTALCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jenifer Rogers, president of the American
Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ), is afamiliar face among the upper echelons ofJapan’s corporate community. In 2015, shebecame the first foreign female director ofa Japanese trading company when she waselected as external director of Mitsui & Co.
and has since served as a non-executive“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing .”This quote from Helen Keller is one Jenifer
Rogers has taken to heart.
SHINSUKE KAMIOKA

director at Kawasaki Heavy Industries andNissan.
When she is not running board meetings
at the ACCJ or attending board meetings atsome of Japan’s largest corporations, Rogers
serves as general counsel Asia at Asurion, aglobal tech services company.
Commenting on how she balances theresponsibilities of her numerous positions,Rogers noted her ability to compartmentalize. “Because I have so many interests andeverything sounds so fascinating, I have ahard time saying no,” she told The Japan
Times, speaking from the ACCJ office inTokyo’s Azabudai district. “I love everything
I’m doing, so one of my biggest challenges
is just to compartmentalize and focus onone thing at a time. I’m learning to embrace
that, and I’m having a good time.”
Rogers’ recent activities in Japan started
in 2014, when she relocated from Hong
Kong to Tokyo in her current position atAsurion. However, her relationship withJapan spans decades. In the 1980s, herfather was president of Dow Chemical
Japan, and it was this familial connectionthat led her to Japan for the first time in1981.
Back then, Tokyo was not the international city it is today. Rogers noted how
difficult it was to get around as a nonJapanese speaker. There were no bilingual
signs, and if she got lost, her only option
was to ask for directions at the nearest
koban (neighborhood police station). “It
was a very different city,” she said. “I stillsaw women in kimonos and there wasstill a lot more of ‘traditional Japan.’ Don’t
get me wrong, Tokyo was modernizing —you still had the subways — but it was stilla Japanese city.”
Rogers’ initial stay in Japan shaped herinterest in international relations. She
had planned to go to nursing school after
returning to the U.S., but her experiences
studying at Sophia University, where sheinteracted with people of various nationalities and engaged with global issues,
inspired her to shift her focus: “I started tothink about how to make a difference inthe world through cross-cultural understanding in the international arena.”
Propelled by her new passion, Rogers
returned to the U.S. to enter Georgetown
University’s School of Foreign Service,where she developed a foundation in economics and foreign policy. After graduating, she decided to enter the Georgetown
Law Center. “When you think about what
you can change and how you can engage
internationally, and look at the institutions, you realize everything relates tolaw,” she said. “Law school was a way forme to combine my interests and prepare
for a career abroad.”
Rogers has since led a prolific international career. For 18 years she worked at
Bank of America Merrill Lynch (now BofA
Securities), where she served in a variety
of senior legal roles in New York, Dublin,Hong Kong, London, Tokyo and Mumbai.
She also worked as a legal consultant for
the World Bank, while obtaining her master’s degree in international public policy
during a self-described “sabbatical.”
Considering her expertise and fluent
Japanese abilities, it is no surprise thatJapan’s business community looks to Rogers for her perspective on various topics,including risk management and corporate

Jenifer Rogers is president of the American
Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ)
and general counsel Asia at Asurion.
Fluent in Japanese, Rogers first cameto Japan with her parents in 1981, when
her father was appointed president ofDow Chemical Japan. This encounter
with Japan sparked a lifelong interest ininternational relations and cross-cultural
understanding.
In addition to her duties at the ACCJ andAsurion, Rogers serves as an external director at Mitsui & Co., Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Nissan Motor Co. Before joining
Asurion, she worked in senior legal roles
at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in various
cities across the world and worked as alegal consultant for the World Bank.
She is a commission member and treasurer of the Japan-U.S. Educational Commission (Fulbright Japan), governor ofthe board of the Georgetown University
Alumni Association, member of the boardof the U.S.-Japan Council (Japan), founding
member of the Asia Society Japan Centerand a member of its Arts Committee, aswell as a member of the Board of Councilors of the Okinawa Institute of Scienceand Technology Graduate University.
SHINSUKE KAMIOKA

governance. It is also noteworthy that sheis one of only a few foreign female directors in Japan. Japan ranked 120th among
156 countries in gender equality in 2021,
a disparity reflected in the mere 8% ofboard seats occupied by women at listedcompanies in Japan. For comparison, as of2021, women occupied 45% of board seatsat listed companies in France and 26% inthe U.S.
Despite Japan’s comparatively slow
progress toward gender equality, Rogers isoptimistic about the future. “I think you’reseeing an acceleration in the appreciationof diversity and inclusion,” she said, noting that when she arrived in 2014, only
about 2% of board seats were occupied byTonoya-Yo

Reinvigorating rustic traditions with finesse and flair

ROBBIE SWINNERTONCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Tonoya-Yo, chef Yotaro Sasaki’s atmospheric inn and restaurant in the rural
heartland of Iwate Prefecture, is unlike anyother in Japan. Housed in a wooden rice
storehouse beautifully refurbished and fitted out in a seamless blend of traditionaland contemporary style, it offers a fullimmersion in the food culture of this little
visited corner of Japan.
Sasaki was born into a family of innkeepers who have provided accommodationand sustenance for visitors to Tono for fourgenerations. From his father he learned
the hearty dishes that have sustained thelocal population through the centuries. But
when it came to setting up his own restaurant, he has honed a style entirely his own.
Grounded in the precepts of Kyoto’s
refined multicourse cuisine, Sasaki’s cooking yet remains deeply based in the foodtraditions of his hometown. It also borrows
freely from outside influences. He preparesnama-fu, a traditional wheat gluten cakewith the texture of polenta, draping it withslivers of prosciutto that he cures himself.
And he grates homemade cheese and hoya(sea squirt) preserved like bottarga (saltroe) on top of the local type of wheat noodle, hitsumi, as if it were lasagna.
But the heart of his cuisine is the rice hegrows each year in his own 100% organic

paddies and serves as the culmination ofeach meal. He has also created a cottage
industry of brewing milky-white doburoku,
the traditional rustic antecedent of modern-day sake.
Working in his kitchen with a single
assistant, Sasaki only accepts one group ofup to eight guests at each meal, and just six
for overnight stays, ensuring that any visit
to Tonoya-Yo is an exclusive and highly
prized experience.

Address
Tonoya-Yo
2-17 Zaimoku-cho,
Tono, Iwate Pref. 0280521, Japan
http://tonoya-yo.com/

TAKUYA TASSO
GOVERNOR OF IWATE PREFECTURETOSHIAKI HONDA
MAYOR OF TONO

It is with great delightthat we have learned thatTonoya-Yo was selected as
one of The Japan Times’ Destination Restaurants 2021.
We hope that many people will be able
to experience the fascinating food, history
and culture of Iwate through the cuisine ofTonoya-Yo.
It has already been 10 years since theGreat East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.
We would like to express our gratitude forall the support we have received from Japanand abroad and hope that you can come andenjoy the many charms of Iwate.

It is my great pleasure toannounce that Tonoya-Yo
has been selected as one of
the restaurants featured in
the Destination Restaurant
list. We hope that people from all aroundthe world will enjoy the distinctive foodof Tono.
Chef Yotaro Sasaki’s passion for brewing,
fermenting and maturing from the soil up
makes his dishes a unique experience. We
look forward to welcoming you to Tono,
the home of eternal Japan and the country’s first special certified area for doburoku sake.

PAGE: 7

women, a quarter of the level now. Japan’s
aging demographics, compounded by theeffects of COVID-19, which have dispelled
stigmas toward remote work, have also
contributed to this acceleration, she said.
“Diversity is discomfort,” Rogers said.
“Japan is a harmony-based society thatemphasizes compromise, but you’re goingto have debates when talking to people
with different backgrounds. Turning thatconcept of constructive dissonance into
something positive that can encourage
us to reach consensus in a more dynamic
way is something that excites me.”As president of the ACCJ, Rogers taps
into this excitement toward dynamic
consensus-building when advocating forthe chamber’s interests, which are centered on four areas: U.S.-Japan partnership, digital transformation, health care &retirement and sustainability. With regard
to sustainability, the chamber has offeredrecommendations to the Japanese government on how to reach its target of carbon
neutrality by 2050 and is working withits members to ensure responsible supply
chains and ESG (environmental, social andgovernance) disclosure.
“We have a lot in the pipeline, and I
think sustainability is going to be one ofour most exciting areas,” she said. “Wehave so many ways we can contribute,and we’re focused on harnessing theenergy of our diverse members.”