8 hours ago
Miho Koshiba: ‘Wouldn't it be nice if people looked forward to Mondays?'
Miho Koshiba, 43, is the president of Mirai Institute, a think tank focused on the future of work through its flagship coworking space Founded in 2012 and now with seven locations in Tokyo, Koshiba hopes to encourage more people to pave their own professional path.
1. How did you choose the name Midori (green) was my first impression of our first location in Nakameguro, which is covered in ivy. The 'so' comes from Tokiwa-sō, an apartment building that housed aspiring manga artists like Osamu Tezuka. They supported each other's work and eventually made a name for themselves. We want to create a similarly supportive environment.
2. What distinguishes from other coworking spaces? Real estate companies often open coworking spaces to fill empty buildings. As a think tank running a coworking community, our focus is on the future of work and making work feel more enjoyable. Instead of the Sunday scaries, wouldn't it be nice if more people looked forward to Mondays? If people tackled work they (felt invested in), rather than what they felt obliged to do?
3. What's your approach to community-building? Our goal isn't to create a community. We focus on nurturing the conditions: An environment where things are cropping up and everyone is naturally curious about what others are doing. We call this 'fertile chaos.' It's like building neighborhood ties. When small interactions accumulate over time and people gather without a specific purpose, it organically starts to feel like a community.
4. What was your professional background before you founded Mirai Institute? I worked at Citigroup, the securities company. The 2008 financial crisis happened when I was a few years into that job. People were being cut left and right, but work needed to continue, so younger staff got bigger projects. Suddenly, I found myself responsible for some regional banks and traveling to places like Nara to greet executives.
5. How does that experience connect with what you do now? Dealing with stock markets is about the future, predicting how the world will change. Now I focus on the future of work. I worked in stocks across all sectors, so I'm familiar with the business models for most industries, which is helpful for understanding the work that members do.
6. What kinds of people frequent It varies depending on the location. The Nakameguro branch has a lot of creative people who make logos and websites. The Nagatacho branch has some political organizations. It's also very international, not just Japanese people.
7. Have you noticed any cultural differences from this mix of people? In Japan, 'business' and 'design' are seen as totally separate worlds. We categorize things as right-brain versus left-brain, people as humanities versus science types. In the West, there's more overlap. People tend to be more sensitive toward their environment and have an aversion toward utilitarian offices.
8. How do you set up an environment that welcomes both Japanese and non-Japanese members? Our bilingual community organizers know who everyone is, what they like and what they're working on, so they become connectors. We also try not to have many rules, because we don't want it to feel like a school.
After participating in a program called Schooling Pad, Miho Koshiba was inspired to create a space that could respond to and cultivate a new way of working in Japan. |
Carina Fushimi
9. Did you have a lot of rules in school? At boarding school in Japan, we woke up at 6 a.m., cleaned together, ate breakfast, then went to class. In the U.K., classes started at 8:30 a.m. and everyone got up five minutes before and ran to class. It felt so new to me.
10. How did that school experience shape you? Adults also need a space that feels like a high school common room. In a typical company, everyone has their hands full and sits at their own desk, so there aren't many moments for spontaneous chats. I always liked bunkasai (school festivals) where everyone is working hard towards one event, then celebrating together.
11. What inspired you to think about work differently? I joined a program called Schooling Pad, run by Teruo Kurosaki, who founded the interiors company Idee. Its vision was to nurture interesting people. We listened to talks by people who led unconventional lives, like a creative director-copywriter who loved space and created Cup Noodle's commercials set in space. Hearing their stories expanded my mind.
12. How did get started? After the Schooling Pad program ended, Kurosaki-san and I continued discussing what would improve society and we landed on the idea of a think tank. Then the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami hit. Kurosaki-san called and said, 'Don't you think it's time?' I had been wanting to quit my job, so the timing felt right. An acquaintance found the Nakameguro property, but it was too spacious to rent just for ourselves. We figured work styles are bound to change, so why not turn it into a coworking space?
13. How has freelancing shifted in the past 10 years? A lot has changed. Organizations like the Freelance Association exist now. Having a side hustle is common. Lifetime employment has largely disappeared. People need others — not just transactional relationships, but real ties. I hope people can find that at
14. You are based in Kyoto now. How is that going? It's a completely different environment, so it's been refreshing. The Kamo River is beautiful. People still have the mindset that Kyoto is the center of Japan — that the emperor is visiting Tokyo temporarily. I was initially concerned about managing the company remotely, but the team members have really grown and I come to Tokyo every week.
15. What does your typical day look like? I wake up around 6 a.m., pack lunch for my middle schooler, then drop off my youngest at day care. I start work around 7:30 a.m. I usually join weekly meetings for each location and plan our new projects.
16. Were you creative as a child? Not at all. But I loved books and I still read a lot. I recently enjoyed 'Herushinki Seikatsu no Renshū' ('The Practice of Life in Helsinki') by sociologist Sara Park. Qualities like extroversion and meticulousness are seen as personality traits in Japan, whereas in Finland they're treated as skills to develop.
17. What TV shows do you watch? I love FBI and CIA-type shows. With work and parenting, things rarely wrap up neatly so it's satisfying to watch a mystery get resolved within a 45-minute episode.
18. What's your personal motto? Identify the essence of things without getting swayed by the surface.
19. Do you have plans to open a branch overseas? I want to. We attract a lot of people from abroad, so it would also be nice to create a place overseas where Tokyo-based members can visit.
20. Where do you see going? Our core goal to make work more enjoyable hasn't changed. Beyond that, I'd love to see more independent people paving their own path. It doesn't have to become mainstream. I just think society is more interesting when people pursue what moves them.
