A Cinderella story: How a poor Tarlac lass became successful in Japan

When Abby Watabe was a young girl in the Philippines, her mother got sick. As she vividly recalls now as her “lowest point,” they were hard-pressed to afford even the P0.75 needed for her mother’s medicine.

Instead of being disheartened, Abby considered that experience as motivation to make waves in life.

“Kaya sabi ko, ‘pag yumaman ako o magkakapera ako, puwede ko na siyang dalhin sa magandang ospital,” Abby shares on GMA Pinoy TV’s EntrePinoy Abroad.

(That’s why I said when I get rich, I will bring my mother to a good hospital)

In 2000, an opportunity opened for Abby to work in Japan. Despite her relatives and neighbors’ negative connotation to being a “Japayuki,” she grabbed the opportunity.

“Ang sa akin, kahit masasakit na salita, natanggap ko. Pero for me, hindi naman ako mapapakain ng mga taong nagsasalita. Kaya sabi ko, hindi ako dapat mag-stop,” she says now.

(I shrugged off the painful words. For me, those people can’t feed me. So I told myself not to stop.)

Flying to Japan turned out to be the right decision for Abby. The daughter of a laundrywoman and a carpenter who initially worked in Japan as an entertainer, she is now the co-owner and marketing director of Karaoke-Kan, one of the biggest karaoke facilities in Japan with hundreds of branches.

Even though Abby is married to the owner of Karaoke Kan, she had to work her way up in the company and even study the Japanese language.

“Pinasok niya (asawa) ako sa company. Doon ako nagsumikap kasi chance ko na ‘to. Then after that, tumutulong na ako sa opisina namin, saka sa kumpanya,” she says.

(He hired me to the company. There, I really worked hard because I’m aware that it is my chance. After that, I helped in our office and in our company.)

Eventually, Abby was promoted and became the company’s marketing director.

Having finished only a vocational course in the Philippines, Abby decided to take an online class in Japan, taking up Science in Hospitality Management.

Abby grew up in Concepcion, Tarlac and once worked in a fast food chain and as a radio operator. As life was hard back then, her siblings worked as a domestic helper, a welder and a factory worker.

Now, however, she is in charge of the schooling of her nieces and nephews. And for that she is very thankful.

“Kung ano ‘yung meron ako ngayon, siguro sapat na at sobra-sobra na. Kasi ‘yung pinangarap ko, hindi ko in-expect na maging ganito ‘yung bigay ng Panginoon sa akin. Kaya very thankful ako kay God na nabago ‘yung buhay namin,” Abby says.

(I think I have a lot now. I didn’t expect to receive all of these blessings from God. That’s why I’m very thankful to God for changing my life.) —KBK, GMA Integrated News