Catherine O'Connell Law オコーネル外国法事務弁護士事務所

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Catherine’s Monthly Wrap Up - October 2023

Catherine O'Connell

There goes October! The 2023 Rugby World Cup is over for another 4 years. Well done to the SpringBoks, the best team on the day. I do think the AB’s played better rugby in scoring the only try (and one other try not allowed) in the final match, but that’s all bygones now as the only thing that matters is the scoreboard when the whistle blows. The 11-12 loss was no reward for getting up at 4am to watch the final, but the All Blacks remain my top team and I look forward to seeing where they go with new team members and coaches. I also can’t wait to welcome Aaron Smith and Beauden Barrett in the Toyota Verblitz team and also, to having four other ABs playing in the premier league in Japan this season.

Here’s a wrap-up of the highlights from my month of October 2023! 

  • Building a Wahine Toa strong NZ-Japan women’s business community in Japan 


It was a highlight of the month to bring together 14 wonderful wahine toa for the inaugural Wahine Toa dinner at the Pullman Hotel in Shibaura, Tokyo. Everyone shared a win from recent times, an opportunity to share and voiced a request for something they need. I can’t wait to see how this group deepens the seeds of connections at this event to go on and cross pollinate and bloom collaborative activities down the line. 

  • Kiwi Aussie Mixer (KAM”)

Continuing the Antipodean theme it was great to welcome 75+ Kiwis, Aussies, Japanese and other friends to the Pullman (again yes, thanks to Kiwi Hotel Manager Dean Daniels) for the second KAM event through ANZCCJ. Chamber events with speakers and speeches are also good but clearly, from the turnout, demand is high for informal networking opportunities. If you are interested in joining the next one, watch out for posts on ANZCCJ’s social media on Facebook, Insta and Linkedin.   

  • Tokyo Mobility Show

My breath was taken away with the inspirational mobility show in Tokyo this year. I loved test riding the moon buggy and the new Century line up from Toyota. It makes me incredibly proud to be serving on their board, and seeing the product line up in reality informs the governance guidance I can provide the team.

  • Jennifer Shinkai’s 100 T-shirts 100 stories 

Tremendous to celebrate with Jennifer for her first curated exhibition - dismantling 100 T-shirts and recreating art out of them representing the hopes, dreams and stories of the marathon runners, spartans and athletes who wore the shirts. I especially loved the rainbow display (see photo) and its meaning of different lengths of cloth representing good and bad days where we fall short one day and make it to the finish line the next! I can’t wait to see what Jen does next!

  • LLAN Gala 

It was super wonderful to be invited as a guest at the Pilsbury table for the 8th Annual LLAN (Lawyers for LGBT and Allies Network) Gala. With 200+ people in attendance it was hard to say hi to everyone but great to be approached by a lawyer who listened to my Lawyer on Air and meet up with colleagues from Panasonic who I had not seen for many years. 

  • Was it a basketball game or a concert? 

I have never been to a live basketball game in Tokyo so it was cool to go watch the Toyota team - Alvark - who won! The game is full of lights and noise and half time singers on the court. It almost felt more like a concert with a bit of baseball thrown in. If you know me, you know I love a mascot and so of course I was delighted to stalk the Alvark mascot.

  • Coming up! 

I am super proud to be listed as a finalist in the British Chamber of Commerce (BCCJ) BBA’S (British Business Awards, in the “Diversity Equity and Inclusion Champion of the Year Award”, on November 2nd. More on this in next month’s blog. Wish me luck!


  • VOTE for the Jandals in Japan Podcast in the Listeners Choice Award! 

If you are a listener of this podcast, put your money where your mouth is and cast your vote for Jandals in the New Zealand Podcast Awards Listener’s Choice Award. All you have to do is:

    1. Click on this link: https://www.nzpodcastawards.com/nominate 

    2. Name of Podcast: Jandals in Japan Podcast

    3. Link to podcast (for you to copy paste): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jandals-in-japan/id1612222516 

    4. Check “I’m not a robot”

    5. Push send! 

Thank you so much for your support!!

And finally… 

It was a shock to be quietly preparing my lunch this week slicing up a delicious looking avocado 🥑when instead of cutting out the nut in the middle, I cut through my index finger 🚑I’m thankful to my doctor at Tokyo Medical & Surgical who I found out specialised in surgery before becoming a GP (hence the reference to “surgical” in the clinic’s name!) and so I was in the best of hands to get five stitches (yes it was nice and deep to require 5 stitches !!) 

I’ve cut some nerves and the sensation has gone from the tip of my index finger and down the inside of the finger. Apparently it will take two years for the nerves to repair. I hope it’s faster than that to recover. 


What’s the moral of this story? Well, I don’t know yet but using the right tool for the job is critical. Who knew but apparently the right tool happens to be an egg whisk: https://youtube.com/shorts/Bm81HrdGPRc?si=rcZS2qTLOOk-Oa0U 

That’s all from me for this month. See you in November.


Catherine