What I must mention first is his splendid career. Through the process of taking his academic degrees from the universities of three different countries, China, the United States, and Japan, Mr. Ryu familiarized himself with the culture and business customs of each. He then joined a major Japanese electric manufacturer. After getting involved in the starting up of a business in China and promoting new projects, he was selected as the Senior Manager of Business in the China Promotion Department, in spite of his youthful age. Currently, he is also an associate columnist for a Chinese business magazine.
By the way, what made him decide to study at the Okuma School of Public　Management at Waseda University?
“The academic program of the School was very attractive to me because of its emphasis on actual business situations. Also, I sympathized with Shigenobu Okuma’s ideals of education and research. I have been always been attracted to Waseda University. I even entered the competition to select a logo commemorative of the 125th anniversary,” says Mr. Ryu.

The main subject of his research is the indigenization of Japanese-owned companies in China, which has interested him for more than ten years.
“I was greatly influenced by my father. He worked in a Japanese-affiliated company and often took me to his workplace in my childhood.”
In China, he studied economics, trying to make a large network of contacts. It was after the collapse of the economic bubble that he came to Japan to study Japanese business administration. He learned not only business management theories but also the importance of on-the-spot surveys in the United States. After a total of ten years of study, he joined a Japanese-affiliated company. However, when trying to make inroads into the Chinese market, he encountered difficulties which could not be resolved only by the knowledge he had learned.
“Both sides have a distrust of each other. While the Chinese side is suspicious about Japanese economic invasion, the Japanese side suspects their newly-developed technology might be stolen. As the Chinese proverb says, ‘It takes us ten years to start trusting each other, but only a moment to stop,’ so it is not easy to close the deep rift between the two countries. It is not too much to say that we have to follow a thorny path toward mutual understanding.”

While pursuing his research at university, Mr. Ryu is filled with zeal for applying what he has learned to actual business situations as soon as possible.
“I have learned many things, and that’s the very reason why there must already be things that I can do.” He is deeply aware of his duty.
“But I’m going to present the results of my research as a student for a little while, which I think is also important,” says Mr. Ryu, giving a smile.
“It may sound strange because I myself am a student, but I sometimes feel envious of Waseda students. They have a very good environment and many chances to try something new. I want them to be aware of their advantages and to be willing to take on challenges.”
His final hope is to be a bridge between Japan and China through business cooperation. In order to realize this, he strives to keep learning something new every day.