Reflections on Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month

As May has come to an end, and Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month comes to a close, I have been fortunate and honored to be highlighted as one of the Asian co-workers here at Pacific Gas and Electric Company.  

While my response toward sharing about my heritage as a Japanese American was said with humorous intent in an effort to be concise, (don't get me wrong, I really do like manga and anime...) it did get me thinking about what it is about my heritage that I love, and how it plays into my passions in to what I do today.

There are definite aspects of the Japanese culture that truly resonates within my character and my spirit. And while I grew up speaking predominantly English at home, with extended family discussions that centered more around vigorous debates on the USC vs UCLA rivalry and heated discussions about the 1980s Lakers dynasty, there has always been an inseparable connection to the small island nation in the Pacific, known locally as Nihon.

The Japanese are seen by outsiders to be a very reserved and polite culture. Much is said about Japanese communications that it is as much about what is not said, vs. what is actually verbally expressed. But actually, what I find and have experienced, is that beneath what may be interpreted as a stoic and reserved exterior, lies deep emotions and feelings that are powerfully expressed in its subtlety. And while it may be easy to miss when in conversation with the Japanese, it can be so easily observed in the daily actions taken by my kin. Whether it is the tremendous care that is put by the owners in the quality of the broth and noodles at a local street ramen shop, or the high degree of scrutiny placed by growers in producing and picking the perfect mandarin orange to be sold at the local shops or major chains, the intense focus and meditation placed by a coffee barista in pouring the perfect cup of pour over coffee, or the solemn gravity that is taken by family members in the cleaning, beautifying, and caring for gravestones of their ancestors, the sheer depth of expression of Japanese emotion will show itself if you just know where and how to look.

While not highly religious in the traditional Western sense, the Japanese reflects a heavy sense of spiritualism that rests deep in the core of who we are. Whether it comes from the influence of centuries of Shintoism and/or Buddhism that permeates throughout the entire culture, or is carried from the historic toils, trials, and tribulations of an agricultural centered society that revolved around the production of rice, there is a significant spiritual reverence and harmony between the Japanese and to the Earth and the nature that surrounds us. From the reverence of the famous Mt. Fuji, to the festiveness and beauty of the blooming Sakura cherry tree... the serenity of the mountainside onsen hot springs, or the quietness and majesty of the bamboo forests... the connection of the Japanese people to nature and the environment is inseparable.

It is in both this intense if not subtle depth of emotion and passion, coupled with the entwined spiritual connection with nature and the environment, that I find myself so grateful for my Japanese heritage as a reflection of my position here at PG&E. Our planet is suffering. Climate change is here and now; our forests are dying, our watersheds and snow packs are drying, and our ability to safely live in what was our beautiful and lush landscapes are being threatened. If we can find ways to continually innovate and create breakthrough changes in both technologies and in the operations and architectures of energy delivery, by bringing greener, renewable power to our customers... to ourselves... we can fight and even reverse the impacts of climate change so that our children (with two of my own), and our children's children, can live in a world that is sustainable and at peace for generations to come.

In fully embracing my Japanese heritage as a reflection of my position as Director of Integrated Grid Planning and Innovation here at PG&E, will you join me and my team in finding ways to breakthrough this incredibly hard, complex, and interwoven challenge? It won't be easy. There are no silver bullets. There are no unicorns. There are no perfect ideas. Every action and change can potentially tug on strings that could have a rippling and cascading effects on so many other aspects of the complex and interwoven mesh that is known as energy policy and delivery. That is the reality that we live in. But there is progress. And each incremental piece of progress no matter how small, can stack upon each other until the sum of all parts creates the entirety of the answer.

Like my little snippets state. It's no longer a question of whether we can do it or not. Our children need us to rise up to the challenge. And our children's children DEPEND on us to do so. And so we must. And we will. Are you with me?