Interview | Mr. Suguru Nakayama - 三島で「楽しむ」英会話はエルスリー

Interview | Mr. Suguru Nakayama

10/6/2016

Life is Entertainment! | President, Empowerment Japan, Inc. / WORKERS! Band Leader Certified Social Insurance Consultant / Certified Social Worker, Suguru Nakayama

--Few of us have ever had the chance to meet a social insurance consultant. Could you explain what you do and what your job entails?

A social insurance consultant is a specialist in Japanese social insurance system law and personnel management. Of the three elements necessary to run any business manpower, goods and capital, my main job is advising and consulting on employee-related issues. I assist with various employment insurance and social insurance procedures and help calculate salaries based on those procedures. I also help write work regulations for companies and businesses, liaise and arbitrate employer-employee disputes, and advise on other wide ranging personnel-related issues.

Piano – from playing as a hobby to work as a piano tuner.

--Before joining an accounting firm, I heard you had a different job…

My love of the piano led me to become a piano tuner. I had been playing piano as a hobby for many years, but I realized I couldn't tune my beloved pianos myself. That's when I couldn't stop thinking, "I want to be a piano tuner!", so I just dove right into the world of piano tuning. I started working at a piano refurbishing shop in Machida Tokyo. I learned how to disassemble old pianos, replace parts as needed, polish and paint surfaces, and finally reassemble and tune them before sale and shipment. I even went to Germany and learned under a master piano craftsman.

Tuning up before a concert

I know that doing what you love for a living can bring great happiness, but to do that, you have to take great risks. For me, one of those risks was the possibility of losing the pure enjoyment I get from the piano. I really struggled with the decision of whether to pursue a professional career in piano tuning or not.

After finally realizing that I would be happiest with keeping piano as just a hobby and not a career, I changed paths and worked to get my social insurance consultant certification. Presently, I am very happy to still be both playing and tuning pianos as a hobby, and also very glad that some piano users still occasionally ask me to tune their pianos once in a while. And that is a work style that I really enjoy.

“Nothing beats experience” If there is anything you want to do, you have to do it!

I don’t think most young people really know what they want to do in life or what kind of work they are cut out for. I was the same. If that is the case, I think the best option is to try doing anything that interests you. Give it a shot, and if you realize it is not for you, try something else. If you continue this process, you will gradually figure out the direction you want to take.

I took a break from college to jump into the world of piano tuning. I figured that I could return to school whenever I wanted and felt ready, and I did. After an extended “break” I enrolled in and graduated from university after completing my coursework online. At the time, I felt that that was possibly the only chance I might ever have to try to do something that I really wanted to do. When we are young, failure is easily overcome and forgiven, and opportunities are everywhere. I hope more young people today will not fear failure but rather, be bold and take action.

--You have many titles: a piano tuner, a social insurance consultant…and it seems you are also the leader of your rock band WORKERS!. What can you tell us about your band and your fellow social insurance consultant-bandmates?

We use rock music as a medium to explain and teach people about Japanese social insurance. The four of us, all social insurance consultants, formed WORKERS! in July of 2011. We write original songs about what we do and know well – retirement pensions, workers’ compensation, employment insurance, health insurance, social insurance and labor law.

--How did the four of you come together, and what are your goals for the band?

I guess it started simply enough. I wanted to see what would happen if I combined my love of music with my area of expertise as a social insurance consultant. Collaboration often results in new and original things, of course even in business. That was the original idea that I started with. Once we got started, we began getting a lot of positive response and exposure. We were covered in newspapers, TV and radio. I was reminded again of the power music has as a communication medium.

You don’t have to do everything by yourself. Just do what you can.

We wrote our song “HOPE – A Gift for You from the Disability Pension System” to educate people about Japan’s disability pension system. The word “disability” seems to entail something special or different, but the truth is that we don’t really know what that really involves until we have to personally deal with it. The disability pension system was not set up for anyone in particular. It was established to protect and take care of us all. Isn’t that what a society is? On an individual level, there are some things we can do and other things we just simply cannot. But, we can do those things by helping and supporting each other together, as a society. That was the message I wanted to convey; the same message is in the name of our company. Empowerment – to bring out and activate the power that is somewhere inside each of us. You could call it “potential.” All of us have it. My lifework is to help release the potential within all of us, in combination with those special, unique qualities we all possess, to build a better society.
Even though Japanese social insurance and labor law plays a large role in our daily lives, most people really don’t know too much about it. I believe it is our mission and duty as professional consultants to educate everyone about the system, how it is set up, and just how important it is.

Lyrics: Japan's aging population ... is supported across generations ... from babies to seniors ... social insurance Rock 'n' Roll!

--Do you have a motto for life or words you live by?

I love the expression “Life is Entertainment!” I am striving to give the best performance I can as the lead actor on the stage performing the story My Life. Of course, in life, things don’t always go as planned and we have to stare adversity in the face, but as I continue to write My Life, I am always excited thinking about what can, could, or just might happen next. It may be surprising, but with this mindset, I can even enjoy the challenges that adversity brings with it. I have a good idea of where I want to be in ten or twenty years from now, and I am constantly thinking about which storyline I could or should follow to get there. My Life, so far, has had its share of twists and turns but believe it or not, I am now where I was planning to be and doing what I was planning to do ten years ago.

L3 Questions... We end each of our interviews with these 3 questions...

If you had not gone into employment law and consulting, what do you think you would be doing now?

I thought a lot about working somewhere outside of Japan. I think it would be cool to be part of the Japanese ramen boom going on overseas right now or something similar to that.
Do you have a special place where you can relax and come up with ideas?

I get a lot of ideas in my car. I have also suddenly woken from dreams when an idea has hit me in my sleep (lol). I usually relax by playing with my five-year-old daughter. She always sees me out the door saying “Good luck at work today Papa! Do your best!”.
Do you have any message for your past or future self?

I have experienced failure and been through a few rough spots in my life so far, but I have been able to finally get back on my feet and move forward again. Failure and hardship is just a part of life. I am a firm believer in “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Nothing much can beat the value of experience, and you can never get enough of it! Stay hungry!

“HOPE – A Gift for You from the Disability Pension System” was written to mark the 55th anniversary of the National Japanese Pension System’s establishment. You can see it here.

Suguru Nakayama

1976 - Born in Kannami, Shizuoka prefecture, currently living in Mishima.
2007 - Acquired Social Insurance Consultant certification.
2008 - After acquiring the Social Worker certification, joined an accounting firm consulting on accounting, labor and legal issues before working independently.
2013 – Established Empowerment Japan, Inc. Currently, band leader of Japan’s first legal-themed, certified social insurance consultant four-member rock band, WORKERS!