What do you do when everyone tells you it's impossible? D. Didem Tari is a Turkish lawyer who refused to let jurisdiction, language barriers, or naysayers stop her from building a legal career in Japan. Now working as a legal advisor at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Didem shares her remarkable journey from 13 years in an Ankara boutique firm to finding her dream role in Tokyo. This is a story about shaping your own mold when you don't fit the typical template and proving that passion combined with persistence can overcome any barrier.

If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Head over to Apple Podcasts to leave a review and we’d love it if you would leave us a message here!

In this episode you will hear:

• How witnessing legal injustices at the age of 8 and 13, shaped Didem's decision to become the lawyer her family needed

• The "after this, after this" trap that kept Didem in one place for 13 years and how she finally broke free to make her dream come true

• Why the doubts of naysayers were the biggest challenge

• The breakthrough moment at a Women in Law Japan event that shifted Didem from thinking "it's possible" to visualising "it's happening"

About Didem

D. Didem Tarı is a Turkiye-registered lawyer and currently serves as a Legal Advisor at TEPCO’s Overseas Business Office, where she contributes to the company’s international expansion and strategic partnerships. She joined TEPCO in April 2024, bringing more than 14 years of legal experience across the energy and aviation industries.

Prior to joining TEPCO, Didem developed a broad and internationally oriented career at a boutique law firm in Ankara, advising a global portfolio of clientele - from emerging enterprises to large multinational holdings - on complex legal matters. Her core areas of expertise include energy law (with a particular focus on renewables), aviation law, corporate and commercial law, and cross-border contracts.

Admitted to the Ankara Bar in 2009, she holds an LL.M. in Public International Law from Ankara University Faculty of Law. She is also the author of The Legal Status of the Southern Kurile Islands, a work reflecting her longstanding interest in international legal issues. To further strengthen her decade-long specialisation in aviation, she completed a BB.A. in Aviation Management, integrating legal, technical, and operational perspectives within the field.

Didem proudly represented Turkiye in the prestigious Ship for World Youth (SWY) program, and has remained active in international volunteer initiatives, taking on leadership and coordination responsibilities in collaboration with IYEO, the Cabinet Office of Japan, and JICA.

In her spare time, she is passionate about scuba diving, Ashtanga yoga, and traveling.

Connect with Didem

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/d-didem-tari/

Links

The Mosque Cafe, Shimokitazawa : http://mosquecoffee.com

In the Name of Identity: https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Name-Identity-Violence-Need-Belong/dp/1611453240

European Journal of International Law Podcast: https://www.ejiltalk.org/ejil-the-podcast-page/

Yuyuの日本語のポッドキャストhttps://www.youtube.com/@yuyunihongopodcast

Women in Law Japan: https://womeninlawjapan.org /

Connect with Catherine

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyeronair

Aida Wang is a top-billing legal recruiter at Just Legal who specialises in private practice placements for bengoshi (Japan-qualified lawyers). With a unique background as a professional translator and interpreter between English and Mandarin Chinese, Aida brings a fresh perspective on bridging communication gaps - not just between languages, but between lawyers and law firms.

Aida shares practical advice on deal sheets, career planning, and why speaking to a recruiter from day one of your legal career journey in Japan can change your career trajectory.

If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Head over to Apple Podcasts to leave a review and we’d love it if you would leave us a message here!

In this episode you’ll hear:

• The critical importance of creating and maintaining a deal sheet from day one of your career

• Why you should speak to a recruiter early in your career, not just when you're actively looking

• The biggest misconception about Japanese bengoshi lawyers

• How Aida helps candidates and clients create compelling stories to help find a perfect match

About Aida

Aida Wang is a Tokyo-based legal recruiter specialising in Bengoshi (Japan-qualified lawyer) searches for private practice, with a particular focus on supporting associates and counsels as they navigate the critical transition points in their legal careers.

Currently a Principal Consultant at Just Legal, Aida works with both Japanese and international law firms, recruiting Japanese Bengoshi and foreign-qualified attorneys across a wide range of practice areas. She is known for her thoughtful, relationship-driven approach and for offering market insight that goes well beyond simply filling roles. In her first quarter at Just Legal, Aida quickly made her mark as a top biller which is a reflection of her proactive mindset, deep preparation, and ability to truly understand both candidates and clients.

Before moving into legal recruitment, Aida spent over a decade working as a Chinese–English freelance translator and interpreter, including roles in media, film, and news translation. This earlier career laid the foundation for what has become a defining theme of her professional life: bridging gaps - between languages, cultures, expectations, and ultimately, legal careers. Her background in interpreting gives her a rare ability to listen carefully, read between the lines, and translate what lawyers want into what the market is really asking for.

Aida holds a Bachelor’s degree from National Chengchi University in Taiwan, along with a Master’s degree in Interpreting and Translation from the University of Bath in the UK. She has also completed Japanese language studies at Keio University. Having lived and worked in Taiwan, the Bahamas, the United States, the UK, and Japan, she brings a genuinely global perspective to her work. She is a native speaker of Mandarin and English, with business-level Japanese, and regularly supports cross-border legal careers in the Japanese market.

Through her conversations with Bengoshi across multiple practice areas, Aida frequently hears one recurring challenge: how to develop clients and bring in work before holding a partner title. This insight shapes much of her advisory work with senior associates who are thinking carefully about long-term career sustainability, visibility, and progression within private practice.

Outside of work, Aida enjoys cooking and crafting with her eight-year-old son, a creative counterbalance to her professional life that reflects the same curiosity and care she brings to her career.

Connect with Aida

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hsinyuaidawang/

Just Legal: https://www.justsearchgroup.com/justlegal/consultants/aida-wang

Links

Afternoon Tea: https://www.afternoon-tea.net/

Connect with Catherine

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyeronair

Guest Host Yoko Oshima leads this episode’s interview with host Catherine O’Connell as Lawyer on Air reaches the milestone of 5 years on air and 100 guests. Catherine shares her remarkable journey from a shy New Zealand teenager to an award-winning lawyer, podcast host, and board member at companies like Toyota and Fujitsu.

You will hear about the pivotal moments that shaped her career, and why she believes courage must come before confidence. If you love listening to LOA and want to know more about Catherine, this is the episode for you.

If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Head over to Apple Podcasts to leave a review and we’d love it if you would leave us a message here!

In this episode you’ll hear:

• How Catherine's childhood curiosity and shyness coexist with the confidence she's built over decades in Japan

• The Japanese lawyers who inspired her career transition and the mentor who saw her potential before she did

• Why she's stayed in Japan for 23 years despite initially planning “max two years”, and the concept of "strategic patience"

• The high-stakes investigation moment when Catherine realised that THIS was why she became a lawyer

• Her favourite restaurant and other fun facts

About Catherine

Catherine O’Connell is a bilingual New Zealand lawyer and the Principal & Founder of Catherine O’Connell Law, the first foreign female–founded law firm in Tokyo. An award-winning practitioner, she has been recognised as Foreign Lawyer of the Year (2022), Boutique Law Firm of the Year (2023), and Entrepreneur of the Year (2020) for her leadership and innovation.

Catherine served as an Independent Audit & Supervisory Board Member of Toyota Motor Corporation (2023–2025) and currently serves as an Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member of Fujitsu Limited (since 2022). Through these appointments she became the first non-Japanese female in Japanese corporate history to serve in such roles on these two blue-chip corporate boards. Her governance work is defined by cross-cultural fluency, bilingual communication, and a capacity to translate complex legal, compliance, and risk issues into clear board-level insight.

Drawing on more than 20 years’ experience in senior in-house legal counsel roles at Molex, Panasonic, Olympus, Mitsubishi Motors, alongside private practice experience at Hogan Lovells, and Anderson Lloyd, Catherine now advises boards, CEOs, and C-suite executives on governance, cross-border leadership, and boardroom mindset. Her C-suite mentoring programmes help executives understand how boards think and decide, enabling stronger alignment and strategic clarity.

Catherine hosts the award-winning Lawyer on Air podcast and co-hosts Jandals in Japan, celebrating cross-border success stories. She is Vice-Chair Emerita of the Australia & New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan, Co-Chair of the Legal Services & IP Committee at the ACCJ, and Past President and Advisory Board Member of Women in Law Japan.

Connect with Yoko

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoko-oshima-36a7396/

Links

Hotel Indigo Tokyo Shibuya

Unpausable play list: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3aCekQmbR0CYMxzdkhzFqN?si=BrfZXnH_Soq8SIazs5M_AQ

Wakanui Restaurant: https://www.wakanui.jp/grill_dining_bar_tokyo/en/index.html

Connect with Catherine

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyeronair