A 16-year member who joined the company talks about her new challenge at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the environment at SUNNY SIDE UP that enabled her to achieve it.

Hello! My name is Kanae Tamura, from the General Affairs and Human Resources Department of SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP, Inc.

This time, we are joined by Koyama, who joined SUNNY SIDE UP in 2007, and has now embarked on a career that even she did not expect. We asked her about her new challenge and how she got there.

[Introduction of the member]

Erika Koyama, Public Relations Division / Sports, Public Relations Division 3 Department 2

■Her new career

For a while after I joined the company, I was gaining experience by working on projects for a variety of clients, and perhaps because of my naturally curious nature, I was often given the opportunity to have quite unusual experiences within the company. It was very stimulating and interesting, and I began to think that it would be great if I could use myself as a hub to give back to SUNNY SIDE UP what I learned in the various environments I encountered in this way and the insights I gained there.

And now, 15 years after joining SUNNY SIDE UP, I have been given the opportunity to take on the challenge of working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs*1, a new career that I had never imagined when I chose SUNNY SIDE UP as my first career.

I have worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the past at the “International Women’s Conference WAW!/W20 JAPAN“.

As I felt at that time, promoting Japan to the world is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job, so I am very excited to have the chance to be more deeply involved now that I have even more experience.

(*1) Public-Private Personnel Exchange System

This is the system that Koyama used this time. The purpose of this system is to deepen mutual understanding between the private sector and the national government through personnel exchanges between organizations with different principles of behavior, and to revitalize both organizations and develop human resources.

■What do you do for a living?

I am assigned to the Global Issues Cooperation Division International Cooperation Bureau, where I am mainly involved in issues that Japan is tackling on a national level, such as public relations for the SDGs and work related to the SDGs Promotion Headquarters.

When I heard the name of the division, I genuinely thought it was cool that it was “global” (laughs).

The SDGs have become a common word in corporate activities and PR, and SUNNY SIDE UP routinely plans SDG-themed projects and projects, and it is an area in which I am interested. So when I heard about this opportunity, I immediately said, “Please let me take on this challenge! and I immediately responded.

At the same time, even before receiving the official decision, I had been studying to improve my English language skills. And now that I am even more familiar with various news happening around the world, I started to check it more closely.

■What I have been doing at SUNNY SIDE UP so far

When I joined SUNNY SIDE UP, the company was small in size and had the image of being a company that was strong in sports marketing due to the activities of its athletes. As the company has grown, I have been involved in a wider range of work and industries, and I truly feel that I have been able to grow with SUNNY SIDE UP over the past 15 years.

I have worked for about 80 clients since I joined the company in a wide range of categories, including gourmet food, fashion, commercial facilities, hotels, and space-related projects.

I was involved in the “YOU MAKE SHIBUYA COUNTDOWN (*2),” a countdown event from New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Day that we worked on with Shibuya Ward, from the conceptual stage of the first year’s project. I was involved from the planning stage of the launch of “J-WAVE NIHON MONO LOUNGE,” a restaurant in front of Takanawa Gateway Station, and was involved in the operation of a restaurant in the COVID-19 Disaster…. I was often entrusted with projects that were truly unprecedented even within the company.

I was also in charge of an anniversary project for a long-established confectionery manufacturer, where we planned the opening of a café in Omotesando for a limited period of about two months. To be honest, it was a tough job, but on the first day of the opening, many customers lined up to see the store. In fact, running a restaurant was something I had always wanted to do, so it was a very emotional moment when it took shape.

I think the reason I was entrusted with everything up to this point was because the client trusted SUNNY SIDE UP, and the senior staff around me also gave me the freedom to do what I wanted, so I think I gained a lot of strength. I really appreciated that.

(*2) YOU MAKE SHIBUYA COUNTDOWN

An event held on New Year’s Eve to ensure that visitors to Shibuya can greet the New Year safely and securely. The event was held as part of a campaign by Shibuya Ward to look 20 years into the future and communicate how the city should be developed for the future.

■ What I value as a PR person

I try to listen carefully to what the client expects from SUNNY SIDE UP. For example, if the client says, “I want to do something funny,” I dig deeper into the client’s image of “something funny. Whether they want something that will generate laughter, something that will become a topic of conversation, or something innovative that has never been done before… I try to be more specific in my verbalization of what they are expecting and reflect that in my planning.

■ Environment of SUNNY SIDE UP

SUNNY SIDE UPgives me the chance to work on projects that I find interesting one after another. There are many opportunities to get involved in content and industries that I have never experienced before, so I think SUNNY SIDE UP is an environment where I can always continue to take on new challenges.

In order to make the most of these opportunities, I feel that it is really important to clearly state what you want to do and communicate it to the people around you. I also think it is important to be prepared to accept any opportunities that come your way. I believe that this is a company that takes such an attitude seriously.

■Finally

There are still many things and people in the world that are not well-known but are full of appeal. So I would like to continue to make myself more and more powerful, and to create or let people know about such attractive things, things, and people, so that someone’s life will be enriched, even if only a little, and I would like to create opportunities that will lead to daily excitement.

For now, I will do my best to promote Japan!

How was it? If you are interested in SUNNY SIDE UP, where you can meet unexpected opportunities and open up a career that you never expected, and if you are willing to work hard for it, we are waiting for you!

And please keep an eye out for Koyama’s future PR activities in “Japan”.