My name is danny choo but folks call me the janitor as cleaning up after gooey stuff hits the fan is usually my job - welcome to the world of product development ;-)
Born and raised in London, England, I first discovered Japanese culture through arcade games, the Sega Mega Drive, and anime like Super Dimension Fortress Macross. Wanting to learn more, I realized I’d need to pick up Japanese—back in the late ’80s, the only access I had was a couple of Japanese bookshops in London. No internet back then ;-)
I began teaching myself by reading manga and took a job at a Japanese restaurant called Benihana, where I could practice Japanese while earning a few quid. There, I washed dishes, served food (and occasionally broke a plate or two). I not only improved my Japanese but also met my wife.
Later, I completed my language studies at the University of London, which led to a role at Japan Airlines in London. Eventually, I made it to Japan, where I worked in IT, including marketing for the scientific journal Nature, Website Manager at Amazon, and Product Manager at Microsoft.
About Mirai Inc.
In 2007, I left the comfort of a regular paycheck and launched Mirai Inc. with my wife. We started out doing web consulting for companies like Disney Japan and Columbia Music, and somewhere along the way, we created Culture Japan—a brand that included a blog, TV show, and merchandise for our mascot character, Mirai Suenaga.
Our efforts to share Japanese culture were recognized by the government, and I was appointed as an advisor on various “Cool Japan” initiatives.
By 2012, I began development on a fashion doll based on Mirai. She officially launched in June 2014. But on April Fools’ Day in 2013, I jokingly announced she would be a Terminator-style robot running Android that could do your homework—hence the name Smart Doll. The idea went viral, which made it hard to change the name later. And so, it stuck.
Ever since, people keep asking: “What’s so smart about Smart Doll?”
My answer was always the video below ;-)
My answer was always the video below ;-)
In 2025—just over a decade since we first launched—our April Fools joke began to take shape as reality. We’re now in the final stages of developing Smart Dolls equipped with electronic components capable of running AI-powered large language models. Our goal is to bring these conversational Smart Dolls into homes later this year. And this time, they might actually help with your homework… not just pretend to.
Most of my updates are on Instagram stories or Xiaohongshu.
