Ritsuko "Ritzie" Kojima, 53, has worked as a hospital social worker and interpreter. Ten years ago, she quit her hospital job so she could take care of her ailing mother and her own family. A mother of three sons, she's a great chef who loves throwing big parties at her home in Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu. Active, powerful and positive, she's up for anything, as long as it's challenging.

Until I was 2 1/2 years old, I was a tomboy, always running around like crazy. That's when I was hit by polio, which was hard on my family but not at all on me. I never cried about it. I just kept on going, although I was slower and on crutches. I didn't let polio or anything pull me down. I was not born to whine.

I was outstanding and my future husband noticed it. Every day in college when I was waiting for the bus on two crutches, having trouble balancing my backpack, this really handsome guy was always staring at me. We never talked, but when I was hospitalized for a series of operations, one day he just showed up by my bed. Turned out he was a medical student there and he kept visiting me until I was discharged.