The Samantha

Noriko Azuma, Assistant Director of PR firm R&D Japan
Hometown: Akita

Tell me a little bit about your background.
I’m from Akita Prefecture, and have been living in Tokyo for eight years. I graduated from Aoyama Fashion College. I originally wanted to be a stylist in the fashion world, but decided to branch out into PR after hearing about it in college.

What are you responsible for in your current position?
My current clients are Hinoki Clinical, Nihon Enterprise, Ginzo and so on. In my four-year career, I’ve been involved in product PR, event planning and press conferences for launchings of companies from various fields such as Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Pink Panther, Mitchell & Ness, Harry Winston, Arcana and Ginza International Jazz Festival, as well as the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.

In your view, how has being a woman affected your career?
There are no particular advantages or disadvantages to being a woman pursuing this career, I think. But I also think PR is a type of job that suits women more. 

©2010 New Line Productions, Inc. and Home Box Office, Inc.

How does being a working woman at the current time in Japan compare to the situation for women overseas?
I don’t find there’s a big difference between being a working woman in Japan and overseas. In Japan, information and opportunities are easily accessible. So, I think there are less disadvantages to doing business in Japan nowadays.

Do you think the lead characters in SATC are positive role models for working women? What other role models do you have?
I see the movie as a fun bit of entertainment. But I don’t see the reality in the film. Honestly, I don’t really relate to their situations. Instead of admiring or trying to imitate their lifestyles, I simply enjoy it as a work of fiction.

What Japanese TV shows, movies, or famous or historical figures do you think young girls should look up to?
Frankly, the quality of Japanese TV programs has declined so drastically compared to the past. I rarely watch TV unless I need to check some programs for my job.

The women in Sex and the City have such melodramatic love lives. Is that true for you, or for your friends or Japanese women in general?
The characters’ lives can’t really be compared to the ones of Japanese women. There’s no one—among my friends at least—who has such a melodramatic love life as Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte or Samantha do. My friends, or perhaps Japanese women in general, are more virtuous and have better morals than other people would imagine.

What do you mean by that?
In SATC, the characters seem to have a very casual attitude towards being with men. Japanese women in my generation know how to enjoy life, but when it comes to relationships with men, they tend to take on a more traditional or conservative stance. They don’t tend to have this liberated, modern attitude toward men, and instead seek one man carefully and seriously.

What Tokyo hotspots can you recommend?
There are so many good places in Tokyo. I really like the Microcosmos club in Shibuya (www.microcosmos-tokyo.com), the House complex in the Shin-Marunouchi Bldg (www.marunouchi-house.com), and Ghetto bar in Asakusa (www.e-ghetto.info). I like to shop at the Ron Herman store in Sendagaya (www.ronherman.jp) and get my hair styled at Deska Hair Salon in Namikibashi (2-7 Sarugakucho, Shibuya-ku).