Saske HR Ninja

Helping new Expats feel at home!

May 07, 2025

'T is the season of newly arrived expats from Japan! One thing I often hear is that the initial introduction and relationship building didn't go very smoothly. 日本から新しく赴任してきた駐在員の方々の季節です！よく耳にするのは、最初の紹介や関係構築がスムーズにいかなかったという話です。

Golden Week and local US holidays

April 08, 2025

Most of Japan is off this week, did you know? The famous Golden Week as we know it today began in 1948 when the Japanese government officially designated the holidays that make up the week. It's a collection of four national holidays that happen in close succession, usually at the end of April and the beginning of May. 今週は日本の大部分が休みです。もちろん日本人はこの祝日をよく知っています。

Are your Japanese expats ready to drive in the US?

April 07, 2025

It's very unusual to have a company car in Japan, for that matter if you live in a big city like Tokyo even having a personal car is not that usual either. High taxes and strict laws that require you to have a parking space are inhibitive for many people.

Giving employees a choice in out of state assignments

April 09, 2025

A company I work with reached out to me because they would like to assign an expat to their new office in a different state from the big city they were sent to 1 year ago.

Knowing when culture is the culprit - and when it's not!

April 30, 2025

I was recently asked to help with a situation where a staff member was not complying with instructions, their manager thought it might be because of a difference in cultural background. This staff member was habitually late or didn't show up to meetings in spite of explicit request by their manager to attend.

Can you request staff to be available during time off?

May 02, 2025

I was recently asked to help a manager at a big Japanese company to help with providing messaging to an employee on extended leave who was not responding to phone calls or messages.