Meros welcomes its newest member, Kana Yamada, as a summer research assistant. Kana is a Tokyo-native and will be a third-year student at Wellesley College in the US. She is a political science major with a focus on international relations.

Kana explained to us why she was excited to join Team Meros this summer. “I was especially intrigued by Meros Consulting’s aim of supporting globally sustainable food chains. In high school, I participated in Model United Nations and I had an opportunity to organize a conference on food security, simulating a UN Food and Agriculture Organization conference. As part of our preparation, my team researched how humankind’s most necessary element – food – is endangered by climate change. We also included discussion on the views for and against genetically modified organisms. Ever since, I have found the topic of food security to be very interesting as it is so relevant to our daily lives. We all need to seek innovative solutions and responses to address the ongoing climate change. As Meros deals with topics such as finding ways to expand the global market for innovative food products, including alternative proteins, I wanted to become a summer research assistant to enrich my view on this hot topic.”

“Before joining Meros, I only had a vague image of what consulting companies do and I wanted to learn about the work consulting firms engage in. I am hoping to proactively try to apply some of the knowledge and research methods learned in school to support Meros work in the “real world.”

In the next few months, Kana will be involved in a number of Meros projects for government and private companies as a research assistant. She will also be conducting a more in-depth project on Japan’s migrant worker trainee program in agriculture. This is a topic that Meros investigated in-depth in 2019 as part of a JICA initiative looking at agriculture trade links between Japan and Vietnam. Kana will be providing an update how the program has fared over the past two years under the COVID pandemic, border closures and farm labor shortages.

“I would like to make use of this chance to deepen my knowledge and understanding of the trainee program situation better in order to be able to come up with my own informed conclusions and solutions.”

Kana is also an accomplished classical pianist, adventurous in trying any new foods Meros teammates recommend and an avid dog lover.

Welcome, Kana! We look forward to having you on the team!