Emi Takei-Loubaresse could not have advanced in her career without the support of her husband, Jerome Loubaresse, 43, a freelance translator who also looks after their 4-year-old daughter, Mio, and is the family's main cook.

"I know other working mothers have to cook food for a week and put it in a freezer before going on a business trip. I'm lucky I never have to do that," said Takei-Loubaresse, director of communications at the new Shangri-La Hotel in Tokyo.

She is in her 40s and fluent in French and English. She started her career with an international telephone operator, and worked in public relations positions for several international firms before joining the hotel, which opens March 2 in Marunouchi in Chiyoda Ward.