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Michael Bosack Profile picture
Michael Bosack
@MikeBosack
Int'l Negotiator, NE Asia Specialist, War-tested Leader・Special Advisor @YCAPSjapan・All views my own
Nov 17, 2019 • 16 tweets • 7 min read
Need some inspiration to start your week? Let me tell you about another of my #heroes,

Beate Sirota Gordon,

who at just 22 years of age became the godmother of women's rights in postwar #Japan...1/ 2/Beate Sirota was born in 1923 in Vienna, Austria, to Jewish parents.

Fortunately for them, Leo Sirota's piano skills gave them the opportunity to move to Japan long before Nazism had consumed their country.
Nov 15, 2019 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
Young Oak Kim, the gentleman in the picture—ever heard of him?

He’s only one of the best Americans ever to live and a personal hero of mine.

If you don’t already know of him, get ready for a helluva story...1/ 2/The son of Korean immigrants, Kim grew up in Los Angeles with less than modest means. He was a hard worker, and after high school, he attended LA City College until he made the tough choice to drop out to support his family financially.

Then the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor...
Dec 26, 2018 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
U.S.-ROK cost-sharing negotiations ‘back to square one’?

As a former alliance manager, let me paint a picture for you of how this happens & why it shouldn’t have happened.

(Thread...) 2/Cost-sharing agreements were put in place to offset the cost of stationing US forces overseas.

They include cost-sharing for things like labor (typically local national employees on US bases), utilities, and construction.
Dec 24, 2018 • 10 tweets • 7 min read
For as long as I can remember, I have watched #ItsAWonderfulLife every year on or about #Xmas eve.

Folks have asked me if the repeat viewing gets repetitive, but the truth is that the film always seems to offer me new lessons at each stage of life.

Allow me to offer a few... When I was a kid, this scene taught me the importance of speaking up when you know something to be wrong, no matter how young or junior in position you may be and no matter the reprisal you may have to endure.
Sep 1, 2018 • 10 tweets • 7 min read
(Thread) Earlier, I shared an old letter my grandpa wrote about the occupation of #Japan. The response was so overwhelming I searched for (& found) an interview with my grandma on the same subject.

Today, on the anniversary of the formal end of #WWII, I’ll share some excerpts: (2/9) Some background on my grandmother first:
・Born/raised in Yokohama
・Before the war, family was well-to-do merchants, but the imperial gov’t took all their wealth for the war effort
・English speaker from young age
・Got a job as a switchboard operator for Occupation forces
Aug 14, 2018 • 9 tweets • 6 min read
(Thread) Every year around August 15th I dust off one of my most prized possessions: an old letter my grandfather wrote me answering my questions about his experiences in the postwar occupation of Japan.

Today, on the 73rd anniversary of V-J day, I’d like to share some excerpts (2/9) Some background on my grandpa first:
・Forged his birth certificate & enlisted at 16
・Spent his 1st year of service as an Army boxer (story for another day)
・Landed on D-Day
・Sent to PI for mop-up fighting before V-J day
・Among the 1st to arrive for the occupation