AOTS E-Newsletter: Management Training in Japan /Insight/ Information from Monozukuri Kentei Kyokai
2025/09/30 (Tue) 10:30
◆◇ AOTS E-Newsletter ◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
30 September 2025
https://www.aots.jp/en/
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"AOTS E-Newsletter" is published by the Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS)
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*This e-mail has been sent from a send-only address.
*There have been more and more cases of subscribers not receiving AOTS E-Newsletters via Yahoo address or Gmail address. If you are using Yahoo address or Gmail address and willing to continue to receive the AOTS E-Newsletters without fail, we recommend changing your email provider to another one. It may be possible to avoid such a case by unblocking "johochosa@aots.jp" if your email provider offers such a service.
<Index>
1. Management Training in Japan (Subsidized program)
2. Insight: Thoughts on the Management Philosophy of Various Japanese Companies
3. Information from Monozukuri Kentei Kyokai (MKK)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Management Training in Japan (Subsidized programs)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applications for two courses are now open! Don't miss this great opportunity!.
Program for All Countries [Language: English]
(1)The Program on Business Innovation and Organization Development [BIOD].
Improve the participants' leadership skills required to create business innovation and promote organizational climate reforms that will lead to business innovation.(Application Deadline: 20th October)
Duration: From 14 January to 27 January 2026.
Place: AOTS Kansai Kenshu Center(Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan).
(2)The Training Program on Program & Project Management [PPTP].
Through lectures, organization visits, and exercises, participants will acquire systems and methods of Program & Project Management from both theoretical and practical perspectives.(Application Deadline: 14th October)
Duration: From 21 January to 3 February 2026.
Place: AOTS Tokyo Kenshu Center (Adachi-ku, Tokyo, Japan).
(3)The Leadership Development Training Program [LDTP].
Deepen understanding of practical leadership concepts, management strategies and organizational development required in DX, mainly for managers and executives, to promote the cultivation of a "leadership theory" that will serve as an axis for their own leadership, and to improve participants' own leadership skills.
Duration: From 28 January to 10 February 2026.
Place: AOTS Tokyo Kenshu Center (Adachi-ku, Tokyo, Japan).
(4)The Program on Corporate Management -Learning from Ethos of Japanese Corporate Management- [PJCM].
PJCM is designed for participants to learn about the characteristic management methods of excellent Japanese corporations and the thinking behind these methods to explore and apply them to their own companies.
Duration: From 3 February to 17 February 2026.
Place: AOTS Kansai Kenshu Center (Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan)..
(5)The Program for Quality Management[PQM].
Upgrade the participants’ capabilities of implementing a quality oriented management system designed for mainly senior managers with responsibility for improving the quality of products and services.
Duration: From 12 February to 25 February 2026.
Place: AOTS Tokyo Kenshu Center (Adachi-ku, Tokyo, Japan).
How to apply: Applications will be accepted via AOTS Alumni Societies. Please contact the closest one.
https://www.aots.jp/en/alumni/about/
Please visit AOTS website for more info.
https://www.aots.jp/en/what-we-do/hrd/management/subsidized/list-of-courses/
FAQ for Management Programs.
https://www.aots.jp/en/what-we-do/hrd/management/subsidized/list-of-courses/faq/
Inquiry: AOTS Overseas Cooperation Group I
E-mail: shouhei-au@aots.jp
Tel: +81-(0)3-3888-8256
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Insight: Thoughts on the Management Philosophy of Various Japanese Companies
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Insight: Thoughts on the Management Philosophy of Various Japanese Companies
This is a continuation of the story in the previous edition. The year is 1969. The place is Panasonic’s European office in Luxembourg.
Konosuke Matsushita had gathered employees stationed in Europe and told them the company was sure to release products that surpassed their competitors within three years. He therefore instructed them to build a strong sales network during that time. Before selling products to clients, he wanted to sell them Panasonic’s management philosophy. It makes sense to build a sales network based on products which you can see, which have a price, and whose functions can be explained. But you cannot see a management philosophy, nor can you put a price on it. The employees discussed what they should do.
What they thought was this: even if you have a product, sales will not necessarily become stable in the long term. If you set a low price, other companies could set a lower price; if you improve the quality, other companies could sell a product with even higher quality. Therefore, to ensure stable sales, they needed something besides the product itself. They had to earn customers’ trust－and to do that, they reasoned that they needed to highlight the management philosophy.
One by one, the employees defined various activities, including pricing policy, product strategy, distribution strategy, and advertising strategy, presented them to clients, and held discussions with them until they were satisfied. Needless to say, the concept of “co-existence and co-prosperity” (i.e., benefiting three parties) in the management philosophy was thoroughly incorporated as the basis of these activities. What’s more, the employees kept their word about everything, never lying to or hiding things from clients and end users. As a result of dealing with clients in this way, they gradually earned their trust and built long-term relationships with European sales outlets.
Seven years later, when one of the employees stationed in Europe returned to Japan, the president of the most successful sales outlet in Europe said the following to him: “We have earned the trust of users and achieved our current prosperity because we shared an approach with you based on the philosophy of Konosuke Matsushita, whom we greatly respect, and put it into practice by working together to embody it in our day-to-day activities. I am glad that we teamed up with Panasonic.”
A management philosophy is more than just words on a company’s website. It only starts to have meaning when it is integrated into the company’s daily activities and becomes apparent to customers and business partners.
To maintain business dealings in the long term, don’t the two sides need to feel affection for each other? It’s like people in love: their perspectives should resonate with each other and bind them together. In the case of a company, that perspective corresponds to its management philosophy.
To be continued in the next edition.
Rikio Suma, Author
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Information from Monozukuri Kentei Kyokai (MKK)
We are pleased to share the following information from the Monozukuri Kentei Kyokai (MKK) in Japan, with whom AOTS has an exchange relationship.
* For any inquiries or correspondence regarding the matters outlined in this section, please contact MKK directly. Their contact information is provided below. Kindly note that AOTS will not be able to respond to such inquiries.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Sir and Madame,
I hope this message finds you well.
On behalf of the Monozukuri Kentei Kyokai (MKK), I am pleased to introduce the Monozukuri Learning, Testing & Recruiting (MLT&R) Tool – a free, multilingual online platform designed to share Japanese-style Monozukuri skills, foster employment, and create new opportunities for people around the world, especially women and youth in the Global South.
Our Mission
Support for the Global South through multilingual Japanese-style Monozukuri skill and employment development utilizing the MLT&R Tool – Developing People --> Developing Nations --> contributing to refugee and migrant support, poverty reduction, and the achievement of the SDGs.
Key Features of the MLT&R Tool
1. Learn Anywhere, Anytime – Access high-quality training content on your smartphone or PC without registration.
2. Multilingual Access – Available in 10 languages, including English, Japanese, Spanish, Arabic, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, French, Hindi, and Bengali.
3. Skill Testing & Certification – Take self-assessment tests and receive results instantly.
4. Recruitment Matching – Connect skilled learners with domestic and international employers.
5. Local Impact – Promote local production for local consumption through practical skill-building and job creation.
Why It Matters
This platform bridges the gap between skill development and real-world employment, enabling learners to gain recognized qualifications, contribute to local industry, and expand their career horizons－while directly addressing migration pressures, poverty, and global sustainability goals.
* Before anything else please a moment to watch our short PR video as well as developed detailed introduction here.
【Watch short Video 】 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT7YYKLK2IQ
【Full introduction Video】 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5EizYv3iVY
You can start exploring the MLT&R Tool here:
https://www.monoken.org
We warmly encourage you to share this information with your network, so that more people can benefit from this initiative.
Thank you very much for your attention, and we look forward to working together to make a lasting impact.
Sincerely,
Isao IDOTA
Chairman
Monozukuri Kentei Kyokai (MKK)
Executive Director
Japan Engineers Federation (JEF)
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Monozukuri Kentei Kyokai (MKK)
Japan Engineers Federation (JEF)
Churis Akasaka #1302, 2-17-12, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052 JAPAN
Tel: +81-3-6229-1942 Fax: +81-3-6229-1940
E-mail: idota@monoken.org E-mail: info@monoken.org
URL: http://www.monoken.org URL: http://www.jef-site.or.jp
URL: https://www.wkx21c.org
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
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Others
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<Inquiries>
https://www.aots.jp/en/contact/
<Past Issues>
https://h.bme.jp/bm/p/bn/list.php?i=hri_hida&no=all
<Unsubscribe or change your registered e-mail address>.
https://www.aots.jp/en/publications/newsletter/
*If you want to change your registered email address, please unsubscribe once with your old address and register your subscription with your new address at the above website.
<Privacy Policy>
Your personal information is protected and is not made public. Any information you provide through AOTS website and email will only be used by us to provide you with AOTS E-newsletters, occasional information and related questionnaires.
Copyright 2016
The Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS) 30-1, Senju-Azuma 1-chome, Adachi-ku, Tokyo 120-8534, JAPAN
30 September 2025
https://www.aots.jp/en/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"AOTS E-Newsletter" is published by the Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
*This e-mail has been sent from a send-only address.
*There have been more and more cases of subscribers not receiving AOTS E-Newsletters via Yahoo address or Gmail address. If you are using Yahoo address or Gmail address and willing to continue to receive the AOTS E-Newsletters without fail, we recommend changing your email provider to another one. It may be possible to avoid such a case by unblocking "johochosa@aots.jp" if your email provider offers such a service.
<Index>
1. Management Training in Japan (Subsidized program)
2. Insight: Thoughts on the Management Philosophy of Various Japanese Companies
3. Information from Monozukuri Kentei Kyokai (MKK)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Management Training in Japan (Subsidized programs)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applications for two courses are now open! Don't miss this great opportunity!.
Program for All Countries [Language: English]
(1)The Program on Business Innovation and Organization Development [BIOD].
Improve the participants' leadership skills required to create business innovation and promote organizational climate reforms that will lead to business innovation.(Application Deadline: 20th October)
Duration: From 14 January to 27 January 2026.
Place: AOTS Kansai Kenshu Center(Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan).
(2)The Training Program on Program & Project Management [PPTP].
Through lectures, organization visits, and exercises, participants will acquire systems and methods of Program & Project Management from both theoretical and practical perspectives.(Application Deadline: 14th October)
Duration: From 21 January to 3 February 2026.
Place: AOTS Tokyo Kenshu Center (Adachi-ku, Tokyo, Japan).
(3)The Leadership Development Training Program [LDTP].
Deepen understanding of practical leadership concepts, management strategies and organizational development required in DX, mainly for managers and executives, to promote the cultivation of a "leadership theory" that will serve as an axis for their own leadership, and to improve participants' own leadership skills.
Duration: From 28 January to 10 February 2026.
Place: AOTS Tokyo Kenshu Center (Adachi-ku, Tokyo, Japan).
(4)The Program on Corporate Management -Learning from Ethos of Japanese Corporate Management- [PJCM].
PJCM is designed for participants to learn about the characteristic management methods of excellent Japanese corporations and the thinking behind these methods to explore and apply them to their own companies.
Duration: From 3 February to 17 February 2026.
Place: AOTS Kansai Kenshu Center (Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan)..
(5)The Program for Quality Management[PQM].
Upgrade the participants’ capabilities of implementing a quality oriented management system designed for mainly senior managers with responsibility for improving the quality of products and services.
Duration: From 12 February to 25 February 2026.
Place: AOTS Tokyo Kenshu Center (Adachi-ku, Tokyo, Japan).
How to apply: Applications will be accepted via AOTS Alumni Societies. Please contact the closest one.
https://www.aots.jp/en/alumni/about/
Please visit AOTS website for more info.
https://www.aots.jp/en/what-we-do/hrd/management/subsidized/list-of-courses/
FAQ for Management Programs.
https://www.aots.jp/en/what-we-do/hrd/management/subsidized/list-of-courses/faq/
Inquiry: AOTS Overseas Cooperation Group I
E-mail: shouhei-au@aots.jp
Tel: +81-(0)3-3888-8256
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Insight: Thoughts on the Management Philosophy of Various Japanese Companies
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Insight: Thoughts on the Management Philosophy of Various Japanese Companies
This is a continuation of the story in the previous edition. The year is 1969. The place is Panasonic’s European office in Luxembourg.
Konosuke Matsushita had gathered employees stationed in Europe and told them the company was sure to release products that surpassed their competitors within three years. He therefore instructed them to build a strong sales network during that time. Before selling products to clients, he wanted to sell them Panasonic’s management philosophy. It makes sense to build a sales network based on products which you can see, which have a price, and whose functions can be explained. But you cannot see a management philosophy, nor can you put a price on it. The employees discussed what they should do.
What they thought was this: even if you have a product, sales will not necessarily become stable in the long term. If you set a low price, other companies could set a lower price; if you improve the quality, other companies could sell a product with even higher quality. Therefore, to ensure stable sales, they needed something besides the product itself. They had to earn customers’ trust－and to do that, they reasoned that they needed to highlight the management philosophy.
One by one, the employees defined various activities, including pricing policy, product strategy, distribution strategy, and advertising strategy, presented them to clients, and held discussions with them until they were satisfied. Needless to say, the concept of “co-existence and co-prosperity” (i.e., benefiting three parties) in the management philosophy was thoroughly incorporated as the basis of these activities. What’s more, the employees kept their word about everything, never lying to or hiding things from clients and end users. As a result of dealing with clients in this way, they gradually earned their trust and built long-term relationships with European sales outlets.
Seven years later, when one of the employees stationed in Europe returned to Japan, the president of the most successful sales outlet in Europe said the following to him: “We have earned the trust of users and achieved our current prosperity because we shared an approach with you based on the philosophy of Konosuke Matsushita, whom we greatly respect, and put it into practice by working together to embody it in our day-to-day activities. I am glad that we teamed up with Panasonic.”
A management philosophy is more than just words on a company’s website. It only starts to have meaning when it is integrated into the company’s daily activities and becomes apparent to customers and business partners.
To maintain business dealings in the long term, don’t the two sides need to feel affection for each other? It’s like people in love: their perspectives should resonate with each other and bind them together. In the case of a company, that perspective corresponds to its management philosophy.
To be continued in the next edition.
Rikio Suma, Author
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Information from Monozukuri Kentei Kyokai (MKK)
We are pleased to share the following information from the Monozukuri Kentei Kyokai (MKK) in Japan, with whom AOTS has an exchange relationship.
* For any inquiries or correspondence regarding the matters outlined in this section, please contact MKK directly. Their contact information is provided below. Kindly note that AOTS will not be able to respond to such inquiries.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Sir and Madame,
I hope this message finds you well.
On behalf of the Monozukuri Kentei Kyokai (MKK), I am pleased to introduce the Monozukuri Learning, Testing & Recruiting (MLT&R) Tool – a free, multilingual online platform designed to share Japanese-style Monozukuri skills, foster employment, and create new opportunities for people around the world, especially women and youth in the Global South.
Our Mission
Support for the Global South through multilingual Japanese-style Monozukuri skill and employment development utilizing the MLT&R Tool – Developing People --> Developing Nations --> contributing to refugee and migrant support, poverty reduction, and the achievement of the SDGs.
Key Features of the MLT&R Tool
1. Learn Anywhere, Anytime – Access high-quality training content on your smartphone or PC without registration.
2. Multilingual Access – Available in 10 languages, including English, Japanese, Spanish, Arabic, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, French, Hindi, and Bengali.
3. Skill Testing & Certification – Take self-assessment tests and receive results instantly.
4. Recruitment Matching – Connect skilled learners with domestic and international employers.
5. Local Impact – Promote local production for local consumption through practical skill-building and job creation.
Why It Matters
This platform bridges the gap between skill development and real-world employment, enabling learners to gain recognized qualifications, contribute to local industry, and expand their career horizons－while directly addressing migration pressures, poverty, and global sustainability goals.
* Before anything else please a moment to watch our short PR video as well as developed detailed introduction here.
【Watch short Video 】 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT7YYKLK2IQ
【Full introduction Video】 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5EizYv3iVY
You can start exploring the MLT&R Tool here:
https://www.monoken.org
We warmly encourage you to share this information with your network, so that more people can benefit from this initiative.
Thank you very much for your attention, and we look forward to working together to make a lasting impact.
Sincerely,
Isao IDOTA
Chairman
Monozukuri Kentei Kyokai (MKK)
Executive Director
Japan Engineers Federation (JEF)
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Monozukuri Kentei Kyokai (MKK)
Japan Engineers Federation (JEF)
Churis Akasaka #1302, 2-17-12, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052 JAPAN
Tel: +81-3-6229-1942 Fax: +81-3-6229-1940
E-mail: idota@monoken.org E-mail: info@monoken.org
URL: http://www.monoken.org URL: http://www.jef-site.or.jp
URL: https://www.wkx21c.org
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Others
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
<Inquiries>
https://www.aots.jp/en/contact/
<Past Issues>
https://h.bme.jp/bm/p/bn/list.php?i=hri_hida&no=all
<Unsubscribe or change your registered e-mail address>.
https://www.aots.jp/en/publications/newsletter/
*If you want to change your registered email address, please unsubscribe once with your old address and register your subscription with your new address at the above website.
<Privacy Policy>
Your personal information is protected and is not made public. Any information you provide through AOTS website and email will only be used by us to provide you with AOTS E-newsletters, occasional information and related questionnaires.
Copyright 2016
The Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS) 30-1, Senju-Azuma 1-chome, Adachi-ku, Tokyo 120-8534, JAPAN