I have just returned to Tokyo after spending six years exporting American cars to Japan from California. I was particularly involved in shipping the larger American models, especially Chevy trucks and Caprice wagons, to the market that has been created over here by the emergence of a kind of custom car sub-culture. The demand for these cars is now decreasing because of the worsening exchange rate, and so currently most of my work is to do with exporting Japanese cars to countries where there is a demand for imported vehicles, especially unusual or limited edition models.

In the six years that I have been away Japan has gone through many changes. When I was growing up, young people felt restricted by their parents and constrained by the community, but over the past few years there has been a shift away from this and the younger generation have begun to enjoy much greater freedom. I think that in some ways this is positive because it allows the young to think and act more independently, but there are some who confuse freedom with being able to do anything they want to, and that can cause problems.

Another thing I have noticed about Japan since returning is that people seem to be quite depressed. In the States I kept on hearing about how bad things were getting here and, although many Japanese people that I spoke to said that it wasn' true, when I came back I noticed that people didn't appear to be very happy with their lives. Maybe it's because I was in the States for so long and wasn't used to seeing people like that?especially not in California?but it is certainly not how I remember things being six years ago.

I think the best thing about living in Japan is the convenience: unlike America, you don't have to have a car if you live here because the public transport system is so good and everything is so accessible. On the other hand, I had kind of forgotten how high the cost of living is in Japan, and while it is possible to live cheaply in Tokyo?I've found quite a few discount stores since I've been back?generally speaking, trains, food and accommodation cost far too much.

In the future my personal goal is to learn more about different cultures. I already know quite a bit about Japan and California?I don't say America because California is very different to the rest of the country?but there is still so much more to find out, and I think that in this business I can do that.

Zack Konno works for Torao, an import/export car dealership, and can be contacted on 045-931-0221.