Yoko
Born in Japan in 1977, Yoko moved with her family to California as part of a company relocation in 2017. She worked for a contract company with Google and in engineering roles at Tesla. Last year, she published a light-hearted book about differences between Japanese and American culture based on her personal experience and interviews with neighbors, students, and experts.
Her insights spanned everyday challenges for Japanese citizens living in the United States, from volunteering at her son’s school and working at a Silicon Valley tech company to navigating the complex American health care system. The book, Bunka no Chigai (“Differences in Culture”), was published in Japanese by Tsumugi Shobo. Yoko lives with her husband and dog Choco in Southern California.
Jean
Jean is publishing GIRL IN A BOX, a historical novel about the poet Yosano Akiko (1878-1942), in April 2026. She has done extensive archival research for historical television documentaries in Japan, and worked as a geopolitical risk analyst. She earned a B.A. from Colgate University in English Literature and an M.A. from George Washington University in International Affairs. She lived in Kyoto, Japan in the late 1980s and early 1990s, studying Chinese Philosophy at Kyoto University for one year. She is President of the California Writers Club (Marin Branch), and a longtime volunteer with the Bay Area non-profit Refugee and Immigrant Transitions. She also studies Japanese calligraphy. She and her husband share their Northern California home with siamese cats Miso and Wasabi.
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