“I believe there is great value in the very existence of a community like JWIBA. When people wonder where they should go, or who they can talk to, simply having such a place can be a source of support.”

Connecting People and Work, and Supporting Challenges Across Life Stages

Pasona N A, Inc. began its operations in the United States in 1985 and has long supported Japanese companies in North America in the areas of recruitment, back-office operations, and HR services. For this interview, we spoke with President & CEO Kenji Furushiro and CHRO Kayo Tokumaru about the company’s business development in the U.S., the thoughts behind its support for JWIBA, and its perspective on building a society where diverse talent can thrive.

Kenji Furushiro, President & CEO (Title as of the time of the interview in June 2026)

Q1. Could you tell us about Pasona N A, Inc.’s business and its role in the United States?

Pasona N A, Inc. began its operations in the United States in 1985. Initially, the company started by supporting Japanese companies operating in the U.S. mainly through staffing and recruitment services.

Later, in the early 2000s, following the collapse of the dot-com bubble, Japanese companies in the U.S. also began to experience layoffs in their back-office departments. However, even when people leave, the work itself remains within the company. In response, we expanded into outsourcing services to support back-office functions such as accounting and payroll.

At the time, outsourcing payroll was not yet a common practice among Japanese companies. However, in the U.S., the need for such services was growing. In addition to human resources services, Pasona N A, Inc. has expanded its scope to include back-office outsourcing, business process reengineering, or BPR, which involves organizing and visualizing business processes, as well as HR consulting. Going forward, we are now at the stage of working on more upstream areas such as data analytics.

Another important characteristic of Silicon Valley is that it is home to many companies and professionals involved in technology and innovation. At the same time, I also feel that its culture differs from other regions. In places like New York, the expatriate community and the local Japanese or Japanese American community can often be more separated. In Silicon Valley, however, there seems to be a lower barrier within the Japanese community, and expatriates, locally hired professionals, students, and accompanying family members tend to mix together more naturally.

Q2. How did you first learn about JWIBA, and why did you decide to support it as a sponsor?

I believe we first learned about JWIBA through the announcement of its first summit in 2023. Within Pasona N A, Inc., we have many female employees, so supporting women’s careers and opportunities to work has always been seen as a natural theme rather than a special initiative. When we learned that there was an external event focused on these themes, we became interested.

The reason we decided to support JWIBA was that we felt JWIBA’s mission was very close to the founding spirit of Pasona.

At the root of the Pasona Group is the idea of supporting women’s participation in the workforce. In Japan in the 1970s, it was common for women who had graduated from four-year universities to leave the workforce upon marriage, even if they had started their careers. At the same time, during Japan’s period of rapid economic growth, the need for opportunities for women to work was increasing. I believe Pasona N A, Inc. has been a company involved in building the infrastructure that enables women to play active roles in society.

In the United States as well, the nature of careers has changed over time. In the past, it was not uncommon for companies to take a cautious stance toward accompanying spouses of expatriates working locally. In recent years, however, there has been a growing need among accompanying family members to continue their careers and take on new challenges with an eye toward the next step.

For those who come to the U.S. as accompanying family members, it is important that their careers do not simply stop there, but that they can take on new challenges while looking ahead to the next step and the step after that. Providing opportunities to support such individuals is something we see as a very important role for Pasona N A, Inc.

Supporting expatriate families, Japanese companies, and Japanese-English bilingual talent is also a central theme for Pasona N A, Inc. For that reason, we felt there was no reason not to support JWIBA. A major factor was that there was no gap between JWIBA’s activities and the values we have long held dear.

Q3. How does Pasona N A, Inc. view Equity & Inclusion?

Mr. Furushiro: At Pasona N A, Inc., women make up 70 to 80 percent of our employees. Because of that, rather than promoting women’s advancement through special programs, opportunities have naturally emerged based on skills and aptitude, regardless of gender.

Ms. Tokumaru: When we look at what skills are required for a certain role, sometimes the person who has those skills happens to be a woman, and sometimes it happens to be a man. We do not think in terms of whether someone is a woman or a man. We think in terms of skills.

Mr. Furushiro: Precisely because we are a company with many female employees, we are conscious of whether there is an imbalance at the executive level. Even in an environment where women’s participation is already a natural part of the organization, it is essential to maintain the perspective of checking whether the organization as a whole remains healthy and balanced.

Ms. Tokumaru: For Pasona N A, Inc., Equity & Inclusion is not simply about creating uniform systems. It is reflected in how we adjust the work environment according to employees’ life stages and changes in work styles.

For example, we had begun considering and developing flexible working hours and remote work even before the COVID-19 pandemic. As the age composition of employees changes, the benefits and insurance programs they need also change. When many employees were younger, systems designed mainly for single employees may have been sufficient. However, as employees form families and begin raising children, the support that the company needs to provide also changes. Against this background, we have continued to update our systems while looking at changes in the average age and life stages of the organization as a whole.

In a workplace with many female employees, we have also had to realistically recognize the impact that temporary leaves for childbirth or childcare can have on the organization as a whole. We have continued to think about how to create a structure in which work can continue smoothly while neither the individual nor those around them become exhausted.

For Pasona N A, Inc., diversity is not limited to gender or age. In the United States, there is a natural understanding that diversity means that each person has a different skill set and background, and accepting that is simply part of the norm.

Kayo Tokumaru, CHRO (second from the right; title as of the time of the interview in June 2026)

Q4. What are your expectations for JWIBA going forward, and are there any areas where you would like to collaborate?

Mr. Furushiro: For Generation Z, who are about to enter society, and for the Alpha Generation that follows, the meaning of work and leadership will be very different from that of previous generations. With the evolution of AI, many students feel anxious about whether the jobs they aspire to today will still exist several years from now. We are no longer in an era where people can learn everything simply by joining a company. The importance of communities outside the company and places where people can learn from one another will continue to grow.

Once someone enters a company, the relationship becomes one between employer and employee. Apart from that kind of relationship, I hope JWIBA can serve as a place of support and as a bridge, helping people think about how they can grow in their own way within the corporate world.

I also believe that generational differences should not be viewed through stereotypes. Each person is different. It is important for individuals to put into words what they are thinking and what they are aiming for. It is also important to have the flexibility and adaptability to engage with people from previous generations.

JWIBA is a place where people from diverse backgrounds come together, including expatriates, accompanying family members, students, researchers, and locally based professionals. By combining that with  Pasona N A, Inc.’s expertise in career support and human resources, we see many possibilities for collaboration, such as supporting career development in the U.S., helping accompanying family members explore employment opportunities, and creating connections with Japanese companies.

Ms. Tokumaru: For people who come to the U.S. as accompanying family members, it is very important that there be an environment where they can try working when they feel ready to do so. This is also an area where Pasona N A, Inc. has strengths, and I believe there are ways we can help.

Mr. Furushiro: I hope JWIBA’s activities will expand across the United States. There are many different organizations in each region, but horizontal connections among them are not yet sufficient. If activities like JWIBA’s can connect with other regions, it will become easier for companies to collaborate as well, and I believe support structures can be expanded further.

Q5. What message would you like to share with JWIBA participants?

Mr. Furushiro: When someone wonders where they should go, or who they can talk to about what they are going through, it can be very difficult if there is no appropriate place for them. In that sense, there is value in the very existence of a community like JWIBA. I hope everyone will cherish the fact that such a place exists.

Ms. Tokumaru: In advancing Equity & Inclusion, I believe it is important not only for women or those directly affected, but also for people involved in decision-making within companies and society, to see it as their own issue. It is not enough simply to create systems. The awareness of the people who actually put those systems into practice also needs to change. In order to change the overall culture and mindset of an organization, people in positions of influence need to take ownership of the issue.

Every generation faces its own challenges. That is why it is important for each person to put their own thoughts and direction into words while also engaging with people from other generations and different backgrounds. Adaptability and flexibility are necessary for every generation.

Working, learning, supporting one’s family, and connecting with the local community — each person’s experience of living overseas is different. But those very differences are what give strength to a community.

Pasona N A, Inc. and JWIBA strongly resonate with one another in their shared commitment to creating opportunities for people to work, learn, and connect in ways that are true to themselves. Together, we will continue to build a community where experiences and learning circulate from the Bay Area to the rest of the United States, and onward to Japan and the world.

Interviewers: JWIBA Operations Team: Shoko Handa, Mai Miyaoka, and Sawa Tanaka

Editor: JWIBA Public Relations Team

Interview Date: June 2026

This article is based on information available at the time of the interview. Publication has been approved by the interviewees.

This article is part of JWIBA’s sponsor benefits.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone at Pasona N A, Inc. for their continued support of JWIBA’s activities.