Being confident and able to gauge one's potential are key for a successful entrepreneur, traits Musashino University lecturer Atsuko Mayumi seems able to bring out in her female students as she coaches them on how to go into business for themselves.

Mayumi, who teaches at the Nishi-Tokyo women's college, said that even if students have a hard time landing a job amid Japan's protracted economic slump, they should never give up hope because they can always start their own business.

"I experienced a job-hunting ice age just like today's students, but I found my own solution," said Mayumi, who launched her own company in the U.S. and is now a representative of Amaria Co., a business consulting firm in Tokyo.