Our students from Japan

Students and graduates from your country share their experiences of living and studying with us.

Student name: Yoshihiko Kanezaki
Course title: Diploma in Business Administration
Country: Japan
Year of graduation: 2005
Current employer: ABeam Consulting Ltd

Yoshihiko is very active in promoting Cardiff Alumni groups and encourages all prospective Japanese students to speak to a member of the Japanese Cardiff Alumni before coming to Cardiff. Reminiscing on his extensive travel and rigorous academic schedule, he above all, remembers the friendships gained in Cardiff.

Did you enjoy the time spent in Cardiff? Tell me about your time here.

Of course, absolutely! I did a Diploma in Business Administration. The course was quite intense, sometimes I think it was harder than a master’s degree!

But studying in Cardiff was fun and interesting to me because I did something equivalent to a fundamental business degree: accounting, human resources, marketing, solution management, international management, touching on every aspect of the business. I really liked what I studied in Cardiff and went on to obtain a master’s after that.

Cardiff isn’t a big city but it is sufficiently big. It’s quite relaxed – so it’s not as busy as a place like Tokyo or London. People are friendly and also my classmates were from across the globe like Hong Kong, France and Malaysia. I would say that that’s the most important thing about student life.

Did you enjoy your course? And how did it help in your career?

I think the studies were a fundamental to accounting – it helped me understand how companies and businesses work. But more importantly, the diploma gave me skills in analytical thinking and communication which are soft skills that come in handy. Even speaking English every day helped. Being with people from different backgrounds is integral to being a good consultant and the exposure in Cardiff was helpful.

Tell me a little bit about your job.

I work as a Business and Management IT Consultant and am based in Tokyo. My company’s clients are global but 60-70% are based in Japan. Our company has offices in places like Thailand, China, USA, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, etc. My work is concentrated on the domestic clients; more so on headquarter issues at the moment.

My job is to take the financial temperature of the company for the owners and CEOs and I deal with the things like accounts, balance sheets and profit and loss. I find out how many assets the company has and how much money they are making, whether certain departments are under-performing, etc.

I come up with systems that help take the accounting status of the company into consideration. We consult with our clients on how to implement these systems and how to incorporate them according to legal requirements.

Sometimes we need to adjust the business processes according to local financial requirements. For example, we also evaluate inventory when delivery is done and also check to see if all completed transactions are recorded. We also find out what’s doing well in the business and what needs to be fixed or improved.

What would you say to someone who is thinking about coming to Cardiff to study?

First of all, meet us at the alumni events. If you see the actual alumni from Cardiff and hear about their stories from Cardiff it would really help with making choices, especially when you’re unsure about the University.

All of our group members had a great time in Cardiff and they come from different backgrounds and courses so you can find a range of personal stories about the University from them. I would suggest that you speak to us so that we can give you thousands of reasons why you should come to Cardiff.

Alumni are quite keen to share that experience with others, that’s why we always help Sarah Watts (country manager for Japan) promote the University. Speaking to us would give you a more precise idea about studying in Cardiff.

I guess it goes without saying that the teaching is good. Rankings are good – it’s all on the website. I like the city itself and where the University is situated within the city.

The second point is that we are situated in the capital of Wales. We have everything that we need. It is only two hours by train to London, which makes visiting it very easy. It’s not too cold either. And I don’t know how to explain this, but the people in Cardiff have some form of distinctive characteristic – they are all very friendly; not at all cold or snobby. They are always willing to help others. Sometimes people from big cities can be really insensitive to other people, but not in Cardiff. They are relaxed, but not too relaxed.

I remember the Brecon Beacons being only half an hour away. I did a lot of travelling across the UK. With great train services and good travel infrastructure, that makes things easier. In addition to that, the costs are low and the city is safe.