The special series to put a spotlight on our international staff, “Eyes, JAPAN employee interview” has started! Our 2nd interviewee is Lian Zhoutao from China.

He has been working in Eyes, JAPAN for more than 6 months, and now he is mainly focusing on the front-end development.

We wanted to ask Lian about his life in Japan, why he started to study and work in Japan and what does he think about working in Eyes, JAPAN.

(Interviewer: Angie)

Japan is an advanced but traditional country.

Where did you come from and why did you come to Japan?

Lian: I came from China, and I came to Japan because Japan is the first advanced country in Asia and I have a chance to study here, so I decided to come to Japan. In my opinion, Japan is a traditional country. There are strict rules and regulations. In addition, the animation industry is very developed, and it is affecting a lot of countries and people.

What do you think about life in Aizu?

Lian: Aizu is a small city, but it has beautiful scenery and relatively low consumption. I feel comfortable living here. Here, I usually spend most of my time in the lab in the University of Aizu. And also, I prefer to play football with friends at weekends.

What is your hobby and how do you usually spend your free time?

Lian: I like rock music very much. X-Japan is my most favorite Japanese band. Aside from that, I also like football. Manchester United is my home team. Usually, I spend my free time by playing football, watching movies, and practicing guitar. I also have experience of performing at the band show at vox-livehouse in Wuhan and took part in the China-France Music Festival.

What is your academic background and what kind or research are you doing now?

Lian: I got the bachelor degree at the school of Computer Science and Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan. And I will get the master degree at the University of Aizu this September. I am currently doing research on federated learning and privacy-enhance technologies.

Eyes, JAPAN is friendly for students!

How did you know about Eyes, JAPAN?

Lian: One of my friends who is working in Eyes, JAPAN, Tang Li, introduced this company to me. Many of my friends are working here and we can use English to communicate, and also the culture of this company is advanced, it attracted me so I decided to join this company.

What is your role and what kind of projects have you been working on in Eyes, JAPAN, and which one is the most memorable?

Lian: I mainly focus on the front-end development. Recently, I am working for the catalogue website of MAG-Project, which is basically building a gateway so users can access the data stored in database. But in my opinion, the most memorable project is the Luke project, which is a large-scale project related to dental care. I spent most time on this project.

What customs in Eyes, JAPAN that you like the most?

Lian: What I like about Eyes, JAPAN is the unfixed working time and it is also friendly for the part-time staff, especially the university students. As students, it is difficult to have a fixed time to do part-time jobs because we some group meetings or research related problems that are unpredictable and will take some time to finish. Unfixed working hours in Eyes, JAPAN make it easier for me to arrange those things, so it does not reduce my work efficiency and also I can make full use of spare time.

What do you think about your colleagues in Eyes, JAPAN?

Lian: They are all very friendly and have given me a lot of help, and I have improved a lot thanks to them. Sometimes when I’m facing some challenges while working, mainly some technical issues, sometimes you need to design your code from a macro perspective. Thanks to the help of my colleagues here, the problem was solved.

What about the working environment in Eyes, JAPAN?

Lian: The working environment is very tidy, there are no fixed workstations, and drinks and snacks are provided. Everything is perfect for me. And I think working at the company is the best choice. The efficiency of working in the company is significantly higher than working at home.

What kind of projects do you want to work on in the future?

Lian: I hope to be able to get in touch with more advanced projects that have applied relatively new technologies.

Advice: try to learn Japanese well!

Have you experienced any culture shock while working in Japan?

Lian: No, maybe because Eyes, JAPAN has a very international working environment.

Are there any cons of working at a Japanese company?

Lian: I only have experience of working in Eyes, JAPAN and I think there are no shortcomings in this company.

How do you balance your working and private time?

Lian: Studying is important, when you feel tired of bored, it’s a good idea to change to another environment. Work is to earn living expenses. I think alternate work and study can improve the efficiency of both. In private time, I usually choose not to work or study on weekends. I like to relax and exercise on weekends.

Any advice for people who wants to work in Japan?

Lian: Try to learn Japanese well. Eyes, JAPAN is very tolerant and special, but I think you still have to learn Japanese well.

Thank you!

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