Episode 14: LaShawn Toyoda - Findadoc.jp and Becoming a Software Engineer in Japan

In this episode, we sat down with LaShawn Toyoda, creator of findadoc.jp, a website helping thousands in Japan gain access to life-saving Covid-19 vaccines.
LaShawn originally moved to Japan in 2011 as an English teacher, but recently made the switch to software development. Shortly after landing her first dev job, she realized the foreign community here in Japan was struggling to find access to Covid-19 vaccines. Additionally, vaccines were going to waste, as many older individuals were canceling their vaccination appointments and their vaccines were being tossed out.
With this in mind, she decided to create findadoc.jp for individuals to sign up for vaccine cancellation lists, which meant vaccines wouldn’t go waste and the community could find opportunities to be vaccinated.
By the next morning, findadoc was being used by over 60,000 people all over Japan, and within 2 weeks the site had been used by millions. LaShawn is now working with a small group of skilled developers from industry leaders like Indeed, Amazon, Google, Mercari and many other companies to continually update and improve the site as it grows and evolves.
She has since been interviewed by The Japan Times, Reuters, Tokyo Weekender and Unseen Japan. In addition, she has been invited to collaborate with universities and medical professionals as a result of incredible contribution.

Findadoc.jp is an open source website, so all are welcome to contribute to the Github project!
If you’re interested in donating to support the cause, send a ko-fi.

You can follow LaShawn at:
Twitter: theyokohamalife
Her website: findadoc.jp

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Our opening and closing music by @goodnightthesatellite - Supernova via @hellothematic