OUR FACILITATORS

Jin Abe, MA

Tokyo, Japan

• International education
• Intercultural training
• Student development

PL work
Jin Abe, MA, teaches a 15-week graduate-level course on Personal Leadership at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, Japan.

Jin first learned about the value of PL as an intercultural communication tool during his 2003 internship experience at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. Then in 2004, as he was balancing his family’s need to return to Japan with the chance for career promotion in the U.S., he understood the impact of a PL practice first-hand. The PL visioning process helped him regain a sense of congruence, and made Personal Leadership an integral part of his everyday life.

Other work
Jin started his career with IBM Japan in 1989. He then advanced to graduate school at Western Michigan University in 1996. As a Licensed Professional Counselor in Michigan, he advised international students at Western Michigan University from 1998 to 2005, when he returned to Japan.

At Hitotsubashi University, where he has worked since 2007, Jin is an associate professor and the Director of International Student and Study Abroad Advising. In addition to Personal Leadership, he teaches pedagogy (experiential learning), Japanese culture and affairs, and introductory courses designed to prepare students to study abroad. He also coordinates a short-term internship course with a Spanish company.

As Director, his work includes advising incoming international students on student life and outbound students on study abroad. He also recruits students to Japan, develops and maintains institutional relationships, and develops international education programs on campus.

Personal background
Having lived in the U.S. from age 17 to 25, and then again from age 32 to 41, Jin embraces the U.S. as his second home.

Academic
Jin acquired a BA in Journalism from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and an MA in Counseling in Higher Education at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.

Other interests
Jin is now living with his family in Japan, working and travelling globally during the week, and officiating college football games on weekends.