Celebrating Disability Employment Internationally
Part 2 of 2: Tatsuya Yohena
I will never forget the impact that the people at “e-no” had on me when I visited Japan earlier this year.
Below is the translation of the second interview in this series. Tatsuya Yohena is also an employee at e-no. As I mentioned in the post earlier this week, with the interview from Mr. Uehara, e-no is an Okinawa-based company with a staff of 90 people. Originating in 1977 as an educational publishing house, e-no has turned its expertise in shipping educational materials to one where customers from all over Japan can receive healthy food and natural cosmetics with Okinawan ingredients. E-no is committed to promoting healthy lifestyles and meaningful employment for all. I hope you enjoyed learning more about Mr. Yohena and Mr. Uehara. I hope to see them again soon!
Interview with Mr. Tatsuya Yohena
What is your job at e-no?
I pack Brown Sugar and check Brown Rice enzyme products. I’d like to pack Green Tea Green Juice, box Brown Rice Enzyme, Cassis Bilberry, Eel Supplement and Ginkgo Leaf Extract. My dream is to have fun working with my colleagues.
What would you like to tell Americans about Okinawa?
The main island of Okinawa is a place where you can go out by bus. I like the Yanbaru express bus because it stops for breaks. I like the Okinawa city bus because it is free with my disability card. I record radio shows onto my MD and cassette to listen to on the bus. My favorite radio station is called “good as it is.” I like “Lady Lady” and church programs such as “Yono Hikari Iki Iki Time” and the “Baptist Hour.”
On Okinawa it is fun to take the bus and visit Ocean Expo Park, Rycom shopping mall, and the Tomiton shopping center where you can buy cassettes, clothes and a calendar of the actress Kyoko Fukada. In addition, there is the Okinawa Beautiful Girl Project and many talented people from Okinawa. There’s Blue Seal Ice Cream, A&W, Jef (a fast food restaurant only in Okinawa). Shaved ice with red bean paste is good, and we have Shuri Castle which has a red roof.
I want the American people to know about the word “Ichariba cho-de-” which means once you meet someone, she or he is your family. I heard the word in the cartoon “Stitch” and on the radio Okinawa, and Mr. Tanahara said that word in his show “Talk and talk with Awamori (Okinawan liquor) in your hand”.
What did you think about the visit to e-no by Joyce and Mary?
I didn’t expect Joyce and Mary to visit our company, so I was surprised. I remember that her office (in Pittsburgh) has people with and without disabilities. I’d like to visit her office. I could not answer some questions they asked, but I was happy to hear about their work and private life. I talked about what I do at the distribution center, such as producing Brown Rice Enzyme, Eel Capsules and Ginkgo Leaf Extract. I am glad that people with and without disabilities are working together in U.S.
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