A joint series by the Science & Technology Office of the Embassy of Switzerland in Japan (STOT) and the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (SCCIJ).
Now in its second season, “Thriving and Surviving in Japan” began more than a decade ago as a joint initiative of the Embassy of Switzerland and the SCCIJ. It has two simple aims: first, to bring the Swiss community in Japan together to share interesting career and life stories; and second, to show Swiss exchange students the wealth of diverse opportunities that Japan offers. Each session invites one Swiss professional to share the personal story behind their life in Japan, followed by a networking apéro of Swiss wine and cheese.
Chi-Binh Trieu – Thursday, 27 August 2026 · Embassy of Switzerland, Tokyo
Swiss graphic designer Chi-Binh Trieu opened the season before more than twenty guests. His path began at the very office now co-hosting the series: after graduating from ECAL in 2014 he came to Japan for an internship at the Embassy’s Science and Technology Office and never fully left Japan. After having completed his social service in Switzerland he co-founded the Office for Typography with his brother Chi-Long in 2016; the same year they already won the prestigious Tokyo TDC Award! He spoke to the deep affinity between Swiss and Japanese design – a shared regard for precision and restraint – and pressed one practical lesson: learning Japanese is not optional; it is what turns a foreign designer into a trusted collaborator. On his own trade he was optimistic, arguing that bespoke design still holds a market against generative AI because so much of its value lies in the human, iterative journey a designer guides a client through.
Michael Weber – Thursday, 17 September 2026 · DKSH, Tokyo
The second session, hosted at DKSH, was kindly opened by Mr. Hayashi, President & Representative Director, with a short and lively history of DKSH in Japan – the oldest Swiss company in the country.
Swiss lawyer Michael Weber turned the series’ title into a question: is he thriving, or merely surviving? His life resists a one-line summary – he practises as a foreign lawyer (permitted to advise only on Swiss law), does of-counsel work for a Swiss firm, serves as in-house counsel to Shibuya based start-up Recursive AI, studies for the Japanese bar, holds a research post at the University of Zurich with a PhD on criminal procedure and AI, is pursuing a second master’s at the University of Tokyo, and trains in judo and jiu-jitsu every morning at six. The heart of his talk was how long the road took: seventeen years from a first trip in 2007, self-teaching Japanese to JLPT N1, working his way from an IT apprenticeship through Swiss high school and a full law degree, and finally passing the Zurich bar in 2024 before moving to Japan for good. His lessons were unsentimental – a real goal beats simply wanting to “be here,” the way is the goal, and Japanese-language proficiency is the “magic pill” that changes how people treat you. He urged the audience to keep replying in Japanese even when answered in English, and to engage the local community – in his case a neighbourhood judo club, where he now also teaches local children – rather than retreat into the expat bubble.
A big thank you to DKSH Japan for hosting this new Swiss community initiative. With its Swiss roots, over 160 years of heritage, and a long-standing presence in Japan, DKSH has evolved alongside the Japanese market and its changing needs. We were honored to hold this event at a company with such a rich heritage.
The third edition follows in one month with Meret Brunner, Hotel Manager at Peninsula Hotel, at Nestlé’s offices on Tennōzu Isle.
