Kaz Shiomi, 47, has to be one of Japan¡¯s most unapologetically colorful businesswomen. The Osakan designer¡¯s bubbly personality is even brighter than her aesthetic and it¡¯s reflected in the vivid wooden toys she produces under her toy brand under her company Kukkia.

1. What excites you the most about 2025? This is going to be a great year. We have the Osaka Expo coming up, which I am excited for. Along with continuing to run my own company, I will also become the creative director of my husband¡¯s lifestyle company, Ideaco, as he takes steps toward retirement in two years. I am also considering publishing a book.

2. What would your book be about? It would be about myself. I want to show people who are struggling or having a hard time how to live more freely, to color outside the lines. Japanese society can be a little narrow-minded, so I want to show there are different paths to the ones that are laid out by society.