JJ Haines Describes How Mindfulness Shaped His Life And Career In Japan

For most of his adult life, JJ Haines has called Tokyo home. He didn’t imagine that outcome while at Amherst College, but in retrospect it almost feels inevitable given his long-standing appreciation for Japanese culture.

JJ traces the winding path from studying Buddhism and Japanese cinema at Amherst to building a global banking career that took him through risk management, real estate, the Lehman collapse, and now his role as Managing Director and Country Manager for Japan at ING. He reflects on the curiosities that first pulled him toward Japan, the self‑awareness practices that have shaped his entire life, and the family he and his wife have built in Tokyo, including how they navigated the perilous days immediately following the 3/11 earthquake and Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Highlights include:

• The importance of his early service‑industry jobs and what they taught him about understanding human behavior
• Navigating the Lehman collapse, Fukushima, and major career pivots from inside Japan’s financial system
• Raising a family and watching his daughters explore the world on their own terms
• How meditation and presence guide his decision‑making and daily life

You can email JJ at jjhaines333@gmail.com and find him on LinkedIn.