Michael Anop, a longtime Tokyo resident and entrepreneur, says he is "very much a people's person," as demonstrated by a definite talent for connecting with the right individuals to make things happen.
As a teenager, he dreamed of a career working with young people in the counseling field. But after arriving in Japan just as the bubble era came to an end in the late 1980s, he was soon carving out a niche for himself in the business world.
Years later, the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami that devastated parts of the Tohoku region proved to be a turning point in his life.