Etsuko Kusuda - Japan
She started writing articles about the automotive industry for an automotive newspaper. In 2011 she became the editor-in-chief of a new business magazine, Ligare, that covers the general topic of mobility and two years later she became a freelance ‘mobility’ journalist. Her business goal is “mobility for our happiness” and says both the car industry and the mobility industry are facing significant problems.
She is the only Japanese journalist on the jury and will be representing an important motoring market.
Etsuko spent two years as an exchange student in St Michael high school and Zurich University while living with host family in the German region of Switzerland. Ten years ago she graduated from Kyoto University for foreign languages (German department) and is currently studying for an MBA in English through Globis.
“We are entering a period of great transformation. We have to create a sustainable society and to listen to the voice of the people and relate to the many sectors of our society in terms of housing, health care, education, employment and the global economy.” She points to the well-documented problem in Japan of an aging population and says that in recent years the relationship between drivers and their cars has changed. Her writing reflects what the Japanese society expects. «Readers want to know about the customer’s life and social needs and to be given knowledge about mobility in all its forms and how it relates to the global situation.”
She says being on the jury of Women’s World Car of the Year will help her write about what women are thinking and that her readers, the car industry and ‘society in general’ in Japan will want to be advised.
Etsuko is based in Tokyo and lives on her own although she spends a lot of time with her family, friends and her partner. When she’s not working, she likes to travel, to visit friends locally, she loves to cook and she’s into a variety of sports including running, swimming and mountain climbing.
The active lifestyle, including being a mobility journalist, has given her the nickname of ‘Let’s Go’ and because the pronunciation is very like her Japanese name.