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Nobuo Satoh

Nobuo Satoh was born in Kakegawa City, Japan, and has lived in the United States off and on since 1970. He has spent about five years in Columbus, where he is plant manager of NTN Driveshaft. He also lived in Chicago. But this time, his wife and three children live in Japan, and visit frequently. Iwata City (where his family currently lives) has a population of about 70,000, and is similar to Columbus in many ways with its industrial base, including Yamaha and Suzuki. But Japan is small and very crowded, he says, "jam-packed" with housing and lacking in open spaces such as seen in America.

While he was the victim of thefts in Chicago, he says Columbus is a "nice, clean, safe" place to live. "People are very kind here," he says. He relates a story of when he first moved to Columbus and was trying to find his way around, he pulled his car to the side of the road to study a map. Almost immediately, he says, a stranger stopped and offered assistance. "That showed me very warm-hearted people live in this area," he said. "I feel their kindness very much."

He has encountered language barriers in America, where some cannot understand why everyone doesn't speak English. He believes it is important for those coming from another country to learn English words for medical treatment, since communicating health problems may be difficult.

Other cultural differences he has observed include less formality and more physical expression among friends or loved ones in America. Hugging, kissing and hand-holding are common here, but expressions of caring are more formal in Japan. Americans are also more individualistic, and express themselves more freely, he said, while in Japan they are more focused on representing their group, their family or school. The American spirit, he said, is for one to take responsibility for oneself while Japan is very family-oriented, with two or three generations often living together. Americans express freedom and Japanese express discipline, he said. "America is very comfortable."

New Year's Day is a bigger celebration in Japan, a family day with special cooking, symbolic meals and monetary gifts for children. On March 3, the Japanese celebrate Girl's Day, with dolls and celebrations. On May 5, they celebrate Boy's Day, with carp decorations symbolizing strength and leadership. Autumn festivals, held at different times in different villages, celebrate the harvest. "Columbus is surrounded by rich mother nature and nice people," he says. "Come and experience it!"