I had the opportunity to assist GR Japan as an intern for four weeks. As one of my peers has written in last year’s news, GR Japan is a government relations and public affairs firm located in Japan’s political hub, Nagata-cho, Tokyo. In a nutshell, the company conducts policy research and stakeholder outreach on the behalf of companies (mainly foreign) that desire to branch out in Japan. Only a handful of companies conduct stakeholder outreach due to the strong bureaucratic system. Hence, GR Japan holds an important place in business as a government relations and public affairs firm. The company is located behind the Second Members’ Office Building of the House of Representatives and is within walking distance of the Diet Building and the Prime Minister’s Official Residence.
As one of the few interns at GR Japan, I mainly conducted translation and research for ongoing projects. As an intern, I had the opportunity to conduct research for a variety of topics, thus expanding my horizon. The internship allowed interns to further hone both their research and language skills. Personally, I enjoyed being consistently updated with changes in Japanese politics. It was interesting to witness the actual affects the recent cabinet reshuffle and Tokyo’s gubernatorial election has on GR Japan’s work. As a student, it is easy to dismiss important changes as irrelevant; however, this internship provided the opportunity to witness the actual affects it has with business.
The best part of the internship was to be part of GR Japan’s team. The company is full of individuals with superb background, allowing interns to learn from them throughout the internship. The opportunity to be able to assist individuals with actual experience in politics and/or business provides interns with greater insight in the actual development of policy research and stakeholder outreach. I have definitely received much more than I have contributed. It was an honor to be part of the team, and I highly encourage other students to consider an internship at GR Japan K.K..