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Interview Content (Liam-san)

1.Basic Information

Q: Could you please introduce yourself again?
A: My name is Liam Aaron Grant, I am 22 years old from Berlin, Germany, and I was an intern at Totsu Corporation for six months.

Q: What did you study at university?
A: In Berlin, I study Japanese Studies and have been doing so for a few years, with a focus on the language and culture, but since I have been working here, I have learned a lot about business and IT as well as Japanese work culture.

Q: Have you experienced any difficulties with Japanese workplace culture?
A: I think some of the difficulties lie within the language, which I have not mastered yet, not by a long shot. But Totsu’s open and forward-thinking culture has allowed me to feel comfortable to say when I didn’t understand something, or when I needed help translating something. Both Mr. Kobayashi and Mr. Hikawa speak very good English, and I could always count on their help if I had some issues.

Q: Have you experienced any difficulties in daily life in Japan?
A: In terms of difficulties in living in Japan, it’s my second time, so I am not so new to Japanese life, but I think sometimes living spaces are an issue for me. It is a personal issue, but small apartments are an issue for me occasionally. In other difficulties, even in my personal life, I can turn to Mr. Kobayashi, my good friend, as well as my colleagues at Totsu for help, especially with matters involving the Japanese language.

Q: What was the duration of your internship (from when to when)?
A: I was at Totsu for exactly 7 months, from August 21st to March 31st

2. Work Content

Q: During your internship, which department were you mainly assigned to?
A: I was part of the Customer Success Department under Mr. Hikawa, but more specifically I was part of the Esports department with my colleague Mr. Kobayashi.

Q: Which job or task interests you the most?
A: I think I was most interested in the tournament operations, including doing the shoutcasting for our tournament streams, it’s what I look forward to most when I come back to Totsu, being able to further the Totsu Titans brand.

Q: On the other hand, what job or task did you find the most difficult?
A: Probably the most difficult aspect was going to expos on behalf of Totsu, I think the Japanese word is tenjikai. We did two major work trips, and one of them was to Mito in Ibaraki Prefecture, and it was surprisingly difficult to speak Japanese for 8 hours a day to customers, with all the high-tech vocabulary. I think with colleagues it is easier to speak, but with customers there is a little more pressure.

3. Learning and Growth

Q: What new things did you learn through the internship?
A: I think that it was a big help that I had such a welcoming and innovative environment which allowed me a good introduction to the Japanese workplace and Japanese work culture. There is a very good word in Japanese: maemuki, and I am very grateful for this kind of working environment. My internship also taught me what it takes to run a tournament and an esports collective, it was my first time working almost 30 hours a week, and this time allowed me to put the time in and learn how much goes into such events and community-building, which was also a great experience for me.

Q: How do you feel your strengths and talents were applied to your work?
A: I mean, I go back to the Totsu Titans Cup, I think that is where my strengths and talents could really shine. I’m a big fan of talking, so shoutcasting as well as talking to the players in between games was where I think I was able to contribute the most.

4. Support and Feedback

Q: How did you feel about the support you received from your tutor or team members?
A: Very good! Like I said, whenever I had an issue, even a private one, I could always talk to my good friend Mr. Kobayashi, but also my supervisor Mr. Hikawa, or any other member of my team. I think the biggest thing that people who work in foreign countries should learn is saying when they don’t understand something. And Totsu allowed me to do that, so I am very grateful.

Q: Do you feel you were able to contribute to the team?
A: I think I was able to contribute. I think the fact that I was an intern and that I was only at Totsu for 6 months, I think I was somewhat limited in how much I could provide. Totsu Titans as a brand and as a project takes years to build, and so 6 months wasn’t quite enough to contribute long-term, but after these 6 months I would like to continue to provide and build on the start that I could be a part of during my internship.

5. Overall Evaluation of the Internship

Q: Looking back, what aspects of your internship experience were good?
A: Overall, I think it was a lucky moment for me, because Mr. Kobayashi had just entered the company last April and I had mentioned that I was looking to work in esports, and he recommended me to the company. And I think it covered all the points I was interested in: I wanted to work in Japan, and in esports, and this is exactly what Totsu does, so I think I was lucky to be able to experience this internship here.

Q: What is your impression of Totsu’s employees?
A: I mean, I have already spoken very highly of them, and I think they truly are very forward-thinking and very engaged. I think that there is a relatively wide age range, some are on the older side, some on the younger side, and I think that that diversity allows for a very good environment. The people are also very funny and interesting, while also being serious and engaged in their work, which allowed me and the rest of the esports department to follow their example and do the work that we needed to do. And I think that Totsu going global will be built on the employees, so I am looking forward to continuing future projects with Totsu.

Q: Thank you.

6.Free Talk

Usually, as eSports is a relatively new field, it rarely involved Totsu’s more traditional business such as installations of LEDs, sound systems etc., it was a great pleasure for me to partake in our project in Mima. The fact that I was able to experience a survey of the location and talks with the owners and prospective clients was a very good experience. I hope, when I join Totsu, to be able to build on that experience and further combine it with eSports.

Also, managing the social media of our tournaments and the Totsu Titans brand, through services like X.com and Discord was not only a first for me, it also was one of the more challenging aspects, for which I am very grateful. Equally, guiding players participating in our Totsu Titans Cups was a thouroughly fulfilling experience, as I was able to practicemy Japanese, especially with customers o customer-adjacent people. While these aspects proved exceptionally difficult for me, I hope to build on the experience I have gained and further develop my skills a Totsu and under the Totsu Titans name.

Creating and developing the Totsu Titans Collective as an eSports collective for the budding community, perhaps even including partnering companies to give it more meaning is of great importance to me, and I hope to be able to join the company later this year to work on this project as well.

I am very grateful for the opportunities Totsu Corporation has given me, and I hope to be able to become a valuable member of the team in the future.