JI Team

CEO Ruth Marie Jarman grew up in the multi-cultural paradise of Hawaii. As a child, she spent a year in Edinburgh and has been hooked on “international” adventures ever since. Ruth received a BA at Tufts University in International Relations and came immediately to Japan to enter Recruit Co., Ltd. in 1988. At Recruit Ruth created the Recruit Seagulls Cheerleading team and was the first cheerleader inducted into the Seagulls American Football Hall of Fame in 1993. Ruth received her Japanese language proficiency level 1 certification in 1994 and achieved her Takken (宅地建物取引士)  Japanese real estate license in 2006.Read more about CEO Ruth Marie Jarman.

Yumiko Horigome has excellent capability in English to Japanese translation over many years working in customer service, and retail. We are lucky to have Yumiko bring her unique corporate experience to the JI team.

Managing voice recordings for car navigation systems in international markets, volunteer and education experience in the UK and involvement in the FIFA World Cup gives Yumiko excellent understanding of the differences between Japanese and international business practice.

Takae Ayukawa has had a successful work history with international corporations and education facilities. Her various professional experiences include customer service for a foreign airline (based in a foreign country) as well as work at hotels, in public relations for a tourism association, and was acting secretary for the Japan office in a foreign city. Takae also has taught at a technical college. Takae has a treasury of valuable work experiences that allows her to be a bridge between Japan and foreign countries across several different business fields. Always conscious of the needs of customers, she excels in areas of hospitality and communication.

Chiara Terzuolo brings her expertise in online content creation to the Jarman Team. With more than 10 years in Japan and extensive knowledge of the European and American markets, Chiara will enhance the online presence for Jarman clients. As the former Marketing Manager for Japan, Asia and Oceania at the travel booking site Veltra and Editor in Chief of All About Japan, Chiara combines her marketing experience with years of writing, editing and consulting for both online and print media. From SEO to social media content creation, Chiara will help all Jarman clients find the perfect tone and style for their message.Chiara has also written a book with important insight into Tokyo’s plant-based diet options – the Tokyo Vegan Guide helps vegan and vegetarian residents and visitors enjoy a stress-free experience in Japan’s capital. Catering to the diverse needs of international travelers to Japan is important to Jarman’s efforts to help Japan become a more welcoming place for all visitors. Chiara is also an opera singer, speaks five languages (English, Italian, Japanese, French, and Dutch) and enjoys learning about local sake.

Hana Shiraishi operates the Jarman International Facebook page and edits a variety of Jarman’s videos for social media use. She uses her well-rounded understanding and global perspective on both Western and Asian cultures as a Japanese-American to deliver insightful content. She is currently working at a documentary company in New York city, where she is pursuing her passion for filmmaking and visual storytelling. Whenever she has free time, Hana creates original videos and songs for her personal YouTube channel.

Akane Oikawa is an experienced director, managing international medical conferences and seminars held in Japan.She also worked as an assistant manager at the public relations section of an English conversation school and secretary.

Akane is highly effective at supporting our partners with her excellent communication ability and a broad point of view derived from her work experience in various industries.

Sarah Achilles has a 20-year career in international relations, translation and consulting. She has a solid background in advising and working with both Japan-based businesses and global companies doing business in Japan. Sarah’s expertise is in translation, editing and global communication which she has applied to needs across a wide range of industries. Sarah’s projects have had a particular focus on tourism, hospitality, and marketing.

Sarah brings to the Jarman team extensive experience supporting international residents in Japan, in particular women, and a wide network of connections in the Tokyo business community.

At Jarman International, Sarah has a key role is to support clients with their strategic marketing, event planning and promotion activities as well as to supervise and provide advice on translation and create and edit niche content to help Japanese companies expand their reach and services to the international community in Japan and beyond.

Emi Onishi brings over one decade of experience in project management and in liaising with customers and staff involved with R&D, QA, and production, during which she cultivated the interpersonal and communication skills required for effective negotiations.

After graduating from university in 1997, Emi became an interpreter and translator for the Kyoto Prefectural Governor. Since 1998, she has held managerial posts in international sales with several Japanese companies including Kyocera, Omron and Saki Corporation.

After Japan’s 2011 March earthquake, Emi worked as an administrative assistant at Toshiba Corporation US Project Team for Fukushima Restoration. She gained her B.A in English from Doshisha University in 1997 and studied at UCLA in an exchange program in 1995-1996.

Masako Suzuki has had experience as a president’s secretary, has worked in human resources departments as well as general accounting jobs in company administration departments.

Masako is also familiar with the development and operation of professional systems from her experience as a system engineer at a software development company.

John moved to Japan in 1998 and lived in 16 different cities around the country. John has visited all 47 prefectures and hitchhiked Japan from Wakkanai, Hokkaido to Kagoshima in 2003. John has run in the Tokyo Marathon, enjoys scuba diving, and is a food lover!

John publishes a new YouTube video on his YouTube Channel Only in Japan Go every 10 days to 2 weeks from interesting locations around Japan. John introduces interesting destinations, products, and services across Japan to more than 1.5 million subscribers to his YouTube channel from across the world. He is also a NHK World reporter (Tokyo Eye, Destination Kansai, Journeys in Japan) and a regular inbound news contributor on TBS Hiruobi.

Awards: The 1M subscribers on YouTube award, top 100 YouTube Creators in Japan, NHK World reporting job
Collaborations: East Japan Railway (JR-East), Honda, TOTO, Dassai Sake, Japan National Fireworks Association, Ogasawara Tourism, Aomori Prefecture, Kochi Prefecture, Keihan Railway, Starbucks, Tokyo Sento Association, Hitachi Beef Association, NEXCO, Google etc.

Kenichi Kudo has had experience as an expert of Japanese history over 30 years. He has worked at Aoyama Gakuin University, Tamagawa University, and Tsurumi University.

He joined JI team as  the supporter from historical point of view on Jarman International’s projects.  His subject of study is the middle age of Japanese history (Heian & Kamakura  period).

Tia Haygood is an American photographer with a demonstrated history of working in the photography industry.She’s skilled in taking Event photos, portraits, and also does product photography.

Tia’s main focus is to provide a visual catalyst to improve branding power for local artists and entrepreneurs in the Kanto area. Tia is the image specialist for Jarman International and she brings her expertise in image enhancement of our online content. During her free time, she enjoys cooking new recipes and biking.

Judith is the project manager on a project to promote the Kobayashi region of Miyazaki to the international market. Judith has lived in Okayama prefecture for 25 years. She’s originally from Auckland, New Zealand. In NZ, she was elected onto Waitemata City council at the age of 18 years old where she served for three years. She was also a director for PACOM (Pacific Asia Congress of Municipalities) which consisted of councils in the Pacific and Asian countries. She has her own company that works around Japan but in the last nine years, she’s been focusing on West Japan.

Judith brings to the Jarman team her extensive experience and knowledge in inbound tourism and consulting to assist Jarman clients in connecting visitors from around the world.

Emika Mori is in her final year studying English at Dokkyo University in Saitama Prefecture. At Jarman International, she helps write social media content for a variety of client Facebook pages such as Visit Kochi Japan, Hotel & Residence Roppongi, Coconoma Season Dining, and more.

Based on her love of meeting diverse individuals, learning about new cultures, and sharing homemade delicious treats with others, Emika dreams of one day traveling all over the world on a café van.

Marina Usher spent most of her career working as a producer for Canada’s public broadcaster, where she gained extensive experience in writing, researching, producing, and video editing for television, as well as creating content for social media platforms. After arriving in Japan, Marina spent the first few years working as a Global Strategist at a Tokyo startup, consulting for various international media brands that wanted to build a greater presence within the Japanese market.

Marina is now helping Sony Bank as an English Language Specialist to consult on how to raise the level of customer engagement particularly from international residents in Japan.

A successful consultant with a 24+yr history of working in Japan, in marketing, communications & public relations, for the last few years Julia has been focused on the leisure, travel & tourism industry; specifically, high-end inbound ‘western’ visitors to Japan. Julia is the co-founder of Okuni, an ‘introduction only’ bespoke travel agency and also works with various government agencies and private organisations to advise on tourism strategies and preparedness. Her speciality is ‘off-the-beaten-track’ travel and experiences.

Julia is delighted to share her expertise with the Jarman team, especially if it helps to promote locally run businesses, lesser known locations, artisans, and local culture.

Keziah Paul is an Intern at Jarman International. She is from India but grew up in Tokyo, Japan. She speaks four languages: English, Japanese, Hindi and Malayalam. She is in her final year of university in the United States where she is pursuing a major in Public Health and a double minor in Global Development Studies and Japanese.

Being raised in a multicultural environment, Keziah has the ability to adapt promptly to various settings and communicate with different kinds of people. Her desire is to help integrate the Indian culture with the Japanese culture. She also seeks to inspire a society that accepts and learns from other cultures and perspectives.

Keziah enjoys engaging in creative work such as design, writing and music. In her university, she has adopted the role of a marketing coordinator and vice president for various student organizations, and in her spare time, she creates video content (covers and vlogs) on her Youtube channel.

After working in the management and sales department of an interior goods company for more than 20 years, Toru joined the Sumida Ward Tourism Association to help promote this beautiful, bustling area of Tokyo. Currently, he works at a railway company with a focus on regional development and revitalization. Based on his knowledge of a variety of topics including golf, anime, outdoor activities and social media, Toru helps plan and realize excellent community-building events.
He is also a certified disaster preparedness expert, and sees it as one of his life purposes to let as many people know how safe and fun Japan is.

At Jarman International, Toru contributes his expertise on social media and community-building to strengthen promotion strategies that engage not only the international but also, Japanese audience.

Gen Shiraishi is an advisor at Jarman International KK and a consultant at Bain & Company in Washington, D.C.

Gen provides advisory support to Jarman International based on management consulting experience across multiple industries and functions (e.g., M&A support in aerospace and defense, sales force transformation in tech distribution), as well as over 20 years of experience living in Japan as a Japanese-American.