Best of both worlds – a great MBA in a great city

Japan is garnering growing interest globally as a place to visit, work and study. And for an international MBA, Tokyo’s Waseda Business School (WBS) is hard to match. Attracting a truly diverse student body to its facilities in Waseda University’s central Tokyo campus, the MBA has become a springboard from which to elevate careers both in Japan and internationally.

In terms of location, Tokyo is rated second globally for students in the QS World University Rankings 2025, coming first in both desirability (including quality of life) and employer activity. There is certainly no shortage of employers in the megalopolis, which hosts the headquarters of 29 Fortune Global 500 companies, again ranking second in the world, behind Beijing, but comfortably ahead of New York (16).

Sabrina Yunus and George Nelson, both 29, look back on their experiences of the MBA at WBS and what lies ahead as they reach the end of the program.

Could you talk about your background and what brought you to WBS?

Nelson: My professional background is in corporate finance and strategy consulting in New Zealand. I first came to Japan during the third year of my undergraduate studies and actually did an exchange here at Waseda. That got the ball rolling with my Japan adventure. I started learning Japanese. I loved it here and just wanted to get back. Then I realized I could do both and pursue an MBA in Japan, extend my professional career, and extend my Japanese, and launch my career here in Tokyo. I've also been writing Japanese haiku poetry ever since I first lived here, and even publish my own books. I was truly excited to come back to keep the inspiration flowing.

Yunus: I'm from the US. I used to work in entertainment marketing and PR, focusing on diversity and inclusion and cultural consulting, but I always thought about making my career more global. Looking at opportunities to do that, in countries where they had interesting media industries, Japan was definitely one of them. I had only visited Japan once, didn't know any Japanese, but I also wanted the challenge of somewhere different. I looked for the best place to learn business in Japan: it was Waseda for me.

How has the course been?

Yunus: The MBA course has been amazing. It's gone by really fast; I can't believe we're graduating in a couple months. A lot of different types of classes, types of teachers who have different teaching styles. A big reason I wanted to come to Waseda is the international setting, where I knew there'd be a lot of people from different places. Just challenging the way I think about things, really learning how to work with other people and their ways of thinking about business, discussions in class and really reconciling the different ways that we think about things, has been really valuable for me.

Nelson: It's got all different elements of business. Some of it you already know, some of it you don't, but by the end you realize that you have developed more clear and strategic patterns of thinking. The first year is really intense, heaps of courses and classes; it's like a platter of knowledge and exposure to ideas. And then second year is for you to make your own and go out there and chase it. I decided to train my business skills in a Japanese environment through an internship. I also further publishing and promoting my books.

Yunus: Being a student, it's easy to start worrying about life after graduation. But I came to a realization this year that it's a really valuable time to enjoy being a student, enjoy learning. And just going fully into my thesis. Another thing I've been doing this second year is taking advantage of all the opportunities at the school. So, I joined a gardening club at Waseda. Other than being my interest the real reason is to really push myself with Japanese as most members are local undergraduate students.

What were the challenging aspects of the MBA?

Nelson: One of the reasons that I wanted to do it here was to be able to learn in English and Japanese. That's a really exclusive opportunity, to be able to level up both MBA knowledge, but also Japanese at the MBA level. So, I focused on taking Japanese MBA courses, which we can take as English-course students. This was very challenging (and my grades reflect it), however the ‘swimming in the deep end’ approach which brought my Japanese to the professional level it is today. 

Yunus: The language, especially coming from zero, was interesting. We have a seminar class where it's mixed between Japanese and English. Getting everyone one to eventually speak was very satisfying. And it's not even just language. It's also the way we talk about things. We have topics where conversation can get intense, which is a good challenge for everyone who wants to strengthen their ability to make arguments in their native language or another one.

How is the student body?

Nelson: Excellent, a great group of people, lots of different cultures. I made some friends for life. I'm sure I'll have to expand my wedding invitation list, whenever that day comes.

Yunus: The saddest thing is thinking we're not going to have these times again. Everyone's going to go to wherever they're working, sometimes different countries. There's so many really fascinating, interesting, inspiring people. Most people who go to another country to do a program such as this tend to have an amazing work ethic, have big dreams and want to accomplish something.

What are your next career steps？

Yunus: I'm very lucky that the country I come from has a great entertainment industry, so I’m considering both the US and Japan now. I also used my thesis to start researching the field I was interested in, which is localization of content. I’m still learning a lot about the industry and building my skills to be a competitive candidate. And the WBS Career Center is a great resource if you're interested in working in Japan. They really helped me understand the Japanese job application system, what's required to work in companies here, and helped me create a Japanese resume.

What would you say to someone who's thinking of doing an MBA here?

Nelson: The WBS program can be whatever you want to make of it. We all have our own backgrounds and lives outside of school, and WBS leave us to our own devices in a lot of ways. I think that's a brilliant opportunity. If someone is excited about Japan and a self-starter, there are so many resources and opportunities at WBS, Waseda and Japan in general.

Yunus: I recommend students to take this unique opportunity of studying in Japan and get the most out of it, including taking new challenges. For example, I really wanted to learn Japanese for work, so I took a part-time job at a restaurant in Tokyo for a year while studying at Waseda just because I knew I needed an environment that was not going to be forgiving for not knowing Japanese. Some people decide not to really study Japanese. And then they have a different experience as well.

Nelson: In one of the orientations, a past student said something I really liked, becoming inspiration for a future haiku: ‘Set your course by the stars, not by the boats around you.’ We're in neighboring boats but we're not all going in the same directions. People are pursuing their own dream, whatever that may be, and this is a great place to do it.