I work on the design and development of storage management software. Hitachi's software development meets changing global needs through the holding of hearings to collect and consider customer opinions, with a system to feed this information back into product development. As storage management has been growing into an increasingly important part of system management in recent years, the exchange and sharing of information with distributors has been an indispensable part of clarifying the issues facing customers and proposing new solutions. At present, I communicate with product managers at overseas distributors by using a conference call system twice a week.
Although I create conference documentation in advance while clearly indicating the keywords, since the assumption is that in addition to the expected language barrier issues, there will also be differences in viewpoints and ways of thinking, I always try to communicate carefully. My current main responsibilities include considering the external specifications and graphical user interfaces (GUI) of software, based on the needs of customers as determined in this way.

I picked the company I wanted to work for by giving priority to finding a place where I could make maximum use of the technologies I had learned about. The reason I was interested in Hitachi was because since it was seeking to open up new global markets in the future, I got the sense that it would be looking for graduates with experience studying abroad like myself. Also, while I was searching for a job, I used the "job matching" system to speak with people from various departments in order to find the workplace that matched my own preferences the best. I think this was extremely helpful because it let me envision a concrete picture of how I would be working.
Hitachi has actually brought together excellent personnel, a global environment, and world-class technology. The workplace is full of brilliant people who deserve respect, and I am inspired every single day. For instance, during brainstorming sessions, I discover new perspectives that I would have never thought of myself, and there are people who are able to switch gears without fixating on a single idea, as well as people who are very good at explaining things. I am also working every single day on learning how to be like them, myself.

That would be the ability to communicate. My perspective grew quite a bit while I studied abroad, as I learned just how difficult it can be to communicate with people who have different values from your own. These days I participate in mutual developer reviews, and with all the opportunities to exchange opinions, I find that the work is directly related to my experience repeatedly doing group work with fellow classmates, which is helpful.
Communication skills are required in every type of situation during design and development work. It goes without saying, but the reason is that "monozukuri" occurs between people.
Also, in order to propose better software during the development process, it is important to chew over feedback from stakeholders in every position, and to be able to reflect every bit of this feedback in the final product, without giving up. The difficulties I had to endure while studying abroad helped me cultivate toughness and tenacity in myself.
I will continue pursuing "customer experience values" while repeatedly discussing what it is that customers truly want to achieve. Furthermore, I will work at becoming a developer who can continuously offer his own proposals with the international customer in mind.