Full Circle in Tokyo: A Third Culture Life Between Nations
Standing in front of the Temple University Japan Campus
Starting off a bit stronger than usual, I wanted to express some thoughts on recent events from my perspective. While U.S. citizens are being gunned down or incarcerated in controversial warehouse facilities in the country of my passport, I am here in Japan, trying to make sense of the turbulent global geopolitical climate and the inhumane actions being perpetrated in the name of Immigration and Custom Enforcement.
On February 19, the 86th anniversary of the forced internment of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans during World War II was remembered. History seems to be repeating itself and sadly, certain aspects of Nationalism seems to be supporting the current atrocities. I was reminded of my recent visit to Monticello Virginia and Jefferson’s neutral stance on religious freedom. Established in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, it is increasingly being challenged which risks the freedom to practice other Faith traditions.
Meanwhile, here I am in Tokyo, where the first female Prime Minister has been recently elected to lead the nation and to juggle the U.S./Japan alliance, not to mention controversial tariffs. Despite being an alien outsider, I am also a Third Culture Adult (TCA), a former Third Culture Kid (TCK), with a complicated hybrid identity. Naturally, I gravitate toward global connectedness, open-mindedness, cultural inclusion and critical thought. I have no real home, nor do I belong anywhere. Hence, I am annoyed with the current state of affairs. International tourism in Japan is at an all-time high, whereas isolationist policy has already cost the U.S. $12.5 billion in lost revenue for 2025 (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2025).
To make things more interesting, I am transitioning careers at the start of Spring. For the past 3 years I have served as a Technology Integration Specialist for a Japanese employer in an international school environment. Now, I will be employed in a similar position at the oldest and largest (U.S.) university in Japan – Temple University. TUJ opened its doors in 1982. What is more remarkable, it is located just steps away from the kindergarten/elementary school I attended on the Showa Women’s University campus, where the beginning of my bi-cultural/bi-lingual educational experience commenced. I attended Showa from 1991-1995. From being the lone foreign student in an homogenous, all Japanese school, I will now be employed at an institution that serves a diverse group of students from 80 different countries who are doing their university coursework in the English language.
Like navigating an intricate maze to a pre-destined fate, my third culture journey has weirdly brought me back steps away from that first classroom. I have now come full circle.
