Author Profile: Ken Seeroi

Japanese Rule of Something

I’ve been enjoying Ken Seeroi’s blog, Japanese Rule of 7, for a while now. It’s funny, doesn’t take itself too seriously, but from time to time it comes up with some really sharp observations about life in Japan.

Well, not my life in Japan, because I tend to go home and get angry on Twitter rather than go to an izakaya and drink with random people, but someone’s life in Japan. And I’ve certainly never had to choose between standing up to a violent gangster and watching someone die, or lost a friend, or talked to anywhere near the range of people that pop up on Ken’s blog.

So when I saw that he had finally gotten round to writing a book (well, editing his blog writing down into a coherent, well, more coherent form, I picked up a copy on Amazon almost immediately.

And it was pretty good. Basically it’s the blog, edited and expanded slightly. It’s a great book to read on the move, because each chapter is an unrelated episode. It’s almost like a book of short stories.

If you like the blog you’ll probably like the book. Definitely worth heading over there and reading a few posts for free just in case. It’s not like you have a scintillating social life right now, amirite?

And then, because life is like that, he emailed me the next day and kindly agreed to answer some questions on the blog. So, without further ado, take it away Ken.

Tell us a little bit about yourself

So, I grew up in a large U.S. city with a ton of diversity. The
folks around me were of every imaginable color, religion, gender, and
social status. In school, I played a lot of sports and did some club
activities, and quickly learned that a person’s outward appearance
bore very little correlation to who they were beneath the surface. So
coming to Japan, it was a big shock to find that virtually everybody
judged me by how I looked. Japan’s stuck in the Stone Age in terms of
diversity, but that’s another matter.

My family on both sides is composed of artists, going back several
generations. When I started working in banking, I was basically the
first person in Seeroi history to ever have a job. We thought suits
were only for weddings and funerals. I was like, You mean I have to
wear this every day? What’s the point of that? Corporate America at
that time didn’t have people skateboarding through the office in
lumberjack shirts and down vests, so apparently I was a couple decades
too early.

In terms of values, my family and friends didn’t care a bit about
material possessions. We were all about running, biking, hiking,
drinking, having good conversations. In other words, we prioritized
experience over possession. Or maybe we were just hedonists, I don’t
know. Anyway, I still embody that ethos.

I’ve always been a bit of an adventurer. Like, I’d make a great
mountain climber, except I hate the cold and am terrified of heights.
So that’s kind of what brought me to Japan. I love the country, but
the biggest drawback is that it took me away from my friends and
family. Thank God for email and Zoom, although they’re weak
substitutes for actually seeing your loved ones in person.

Your writing persona is pretty happy-go-lucky, are you the same in real life?

I write like I’m hanging out with my friends. We do a lot of
laughing, joking, riffing on each other, and trying gags, even if they
push the boundaries of good taste or social acceptability. As long as
it’s funny, we’ll go there. I’ve been blessed to have known some
wonderful people over the years, and if I’m happy-go-lucky, it’s
entirely due to the good fortune of having known them.

Did anything strike you about the book writing/publishing experience?

Yes, I never really understood there are two parts to the
publishing process. Part One is getting the book out of your head and
onto paper. That’s called writing. Part Two is getting that paper off
your desk and into the hands of people who might want to read it.
That’s marketing. If you’re good at marketing, but a shitty writer,
you can still move a lot of books. On the other hand, you can be
Shakespeare himself, but if you can’t market your book, nobody’s going
to know it exists.

So I can do Part One, the writing. Whether it’s any good or not is for
others to decide, but I can at least produce a completed work. But
marketing, ugh, I have such little interest in it. Social networking,
making contacts–for me, that’s the antithesis of writing, which
mostly involves a lot of time alone in your own head and with a
keyboard. So being able to do both things well, damn, props to those
with that ability, seriously.

How did you get started with personal finance?

Years ago, I had an office job I just hated. It was interminably
boring, so I started saving my salary and paring down expenses in
order to quit. That’s when it clicked—my life was being spent,
literally, working for someone else. And why? Because I wanted to buy
stuff—a car, clothes, dinners out. If I could eliminate, or vastly
curtail, those expenses, then I’d be free to work less, or in a
different way.

What are you doing at the moment with saving/investing?

Adding to the last question, I mostly try to control spending. For
example, if you could avoid financing new cars throughout your
lifetime, you’d save nearly half a million dollars. Nice clothes, electronic devices, trips, restaurants, and bars–same thing.

So saving and investing, those are great, but first you’ve got to have
the money to do them, and a huge number of folks are struggling just
to pay the rent. It’s really hard to build personal wealth if all you
can save is a hundred bucks a month. So for me, I try to tackle
recurring expenses. If I never went to Starbucks again, that alone
would be worth tens of thousands of dollars. Don’t even think to
mention alcohol.

Debt’s the other big factor. When I had that office job, I had
thousands of dollars in credit card debt that I was paying interest
on. So my very first step was to pay that off, which is obviously
harder than it sounds. And I see a lot of people in the same boat,
whether with credit cards, student loans, vehicles, whatever. That’s
terrible, because instead of saving, you’re actually losing money
every month.

So I focus on remaining debt-free and ruthlessly control expenses. Do
that, and the saving basically takes care of itself. Investing is
another matter entirely, because that involves risk. I’m way out of my
depth there, and from what I’ve seen, so are most financial gurus. It
may sound simple, but Warren Buffett nailed it when he said Rule #1
was “Never lose money.” You could do a damn sight worse.

What books/websites/companies do you recommend?

Two of the greatest books I ever read were by economists: “The
Wisdom of Crowds” by James Surowiecki, and “Thinking, Fast and Slow“
by Daniel Kahneman. Those books did a lot to shape my understanding of
decision making. For websites, I find Mr. Money Mustache kind of
amusing, so shout out there. For companies, I’m always happy to find
one that helps me save some yen. I recently switched my Japanese cell
phone to a provider called Mineo, the speed is great, and my monthly bill is about fifteen dollars U.S., so much love there.

What’s your financial plan going forward?

That’s a hard question, because I like living in Japan. However, the jobs I’m qualified to do here pay half as much as I’d make in the U.S. I feel like making money overseas and retiring to Japan would be the smart move, but since I’m already here, that’d be a strangely roundabout way to enjoy life in Japan–move to the States.

So my current plan is to continue working, managing expenses, and
saving what I can, and then move into a tent by the river and grow
crops. Still working out some of the details. If anybody has an
opinion about pumpkins versus corn, I’d be open to it.

Any other thoughts?

We’re facing some troubling times around the world, and there’s no
shortage of wrongs in need of righting. At the same time, we need to
remain cognizant of how many truly great things humankind has
produced. We’re living in an era with greater access to information
and physical mobility than ever before. You no longer have to ride
your horse to the next village to ask the witch doctor to cast a lucky
spell on you. That’s a good thing. Now you can just email him.

Thanks Ken! Appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

Ken’s book Strange Nights, and Some Days Too: Why You’ll Love Japan, for About a Year is available on Amazon worldwide. And his blog is available online, for free.