AOTS E-Newsletter: Management Training in Japan /Insight
2025/10/31 (Fri) 10:30
◆◇ AOTS E-Newsletter ◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
31 October 2025
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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
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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 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).
(2)The Program on Corporate Management for Customer Value Creation [CCVC].
CCVC aims to deepen understanding of customer-centric value creation and the customer value creation process, enabling participants to apply these concepts in real-world business management settings.
Duration: From 25 February to 10 March 2026.
Place: AOTS Kansai Kenshu Center (Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan).
(3)The Program on Transforming to Circular Economy Business Model [CEB].
CEB focuses on the circular economy, which has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. Participants will learn the concepts and methods to promote the transformation to a circular economy business model for the future growth of their own companies.
Duration: From 4 March to 17 March 2026.
Place: AOTS Kansai Kenshu Center (Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan).
(4)The Program for Quality Problem Solving [PQPS].
This program aims to strengthen and improve the problem-solving abilities of mainly managers, supervisors or engineers of companies, with a view to improving quality.
Duration: From 4 March to 17 March 2026.
Place: AOTS Tokyo Kenshu Center (Adachi-ku, Tokyo, Japan).
(5)The Program on Problem Solving through AI & IoT [PSAI].
The program aims to enable participants to develop solutions to their own company's challenges by using AI and IoT. In addition to lectures and company visits, participants will experience a hands-on technical exercise using an IoT sensor and AI modules.
Duration: From 4 March to 17 March 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
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the previous edition, I explained the excellence of the traditional Japanese approach to business, known as “benefiting three parties.” This is the idea that putting the interests of customers and end users ahead of your own interests and contributing to the interests of society as a whole and employees’ families, based on a spirit of altruism, will ultimately lead to profits for your company. This approach is good for the seller, good for the buyer, and good for society.
Now let’s consider what might happen if a company’s management lacks a spirit of altruism and pursues only its own interests, even if they are detrimental to the interests of others.
Let’s say that in some country, there was an executive at an automobile company, Manager A, who thought only about his own interests. To obtain even higher profits, he thought about lowering manufacturing costs to obtain a bigger price gap. However, rather than beating the competition by devoting effort to technological innovation and improving productivity, he decided to simply lower costs by requesting exorbitant price reductions from a subcontractor company that supplies parts.
Manager B at the subcontractor parts company was also someone who did not understand the “benefiting three parties” approach. He was under unreasonable pressure: if he refused A’s demands, the latter would stop ordering parts entirely. B therefore agreed to lower the prices. In other words, this is not a relationship that is “good for the seller” and “good for the buyer.” Parts supplier B could not make a profit with the reduced prices, so he too made no effort to pursue technological innovation and secretly switched to using cheap, poor-quality materials. He reduced manufacturing costs using lax, underhanded methods, such as cutting corners in required quality checks, then delivered the parts to the automobile company.
After a while, due to the inferior parts delivered by B, accidents occurred with Company A’s automobiles. However, to protect their own mutual interests, A and B colluded to cover up the accidents. In other words, their behavior was like suppressing a product recall. This is the exact opposite of being “good for society”－it is acting against the interest of society as a whole and may even be described as criminal conduct that puts people’s lives at risk. Such dishonesty will always become public knowledge. Company A and B will then lose the trust of various stakeholders, including users and shareholders, and eventually disappear from the market.
In other words, you cannot achieve real success with an approach based on the idea that everything is fine as long as you are happy. True, unrivaled success can be achieved only by sticking with the “benefiting three parties” approach, even in times of trouble, and overcoming difficulties with creative solutions.
To be continued in the next edition.
Rikio Suma, Author
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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
31 October 2025
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"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
-----------------------------------------------------
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 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).
(2)The Program on Corporate Management for Customer Value Creation [CCVC].
CCVC aims to deepen understanding of customer-centric value creation and the customer value creation process, enabling participants to apply these concepts in real-world business management settings.
Duration: From 25 February to 10 March 2026.
Place: AOTS Kansai Kenshu Center (Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan).
(3)The Program on Transforming to Circular Economy Business Model [CEB].
CEB focuses on the circular economy, which has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. Participants will learn the concepts and methods to promote the transformation to a circular economy business model for the future growth of their own companies.
Duration: From 4 March to 17 March 2026.
Place: AOTS Kansai Kenshu Center (Osaka-shi, Osaka, Japan).
(4)The Program for Quality Problem Solving [PQPS].
This program aims to strengthen and improve the problem-solving abilities of mainly managers, supervisors or engineers of companies, with a view to improving quality.
Duration: From 4 March to 17 March 2026.
Place: AOTS Tokyo Kenshu Center (Adachi-ku, Tokyo, Japan).
(5)The Program on Problem Solving through AI & IoT [PSAI].
The program aims to enable participants to develop solutions to their own company's challenges by using AI and IoT. In addition to lectures and company visits, participants will experience a hands-on technical exercise using an IoT sensor and AI modules.
Duration: From 4 March to 17 March 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
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the previous edition, I explained the excellence of the traditional Japanese approach to business, known as “benefiting three parties.” This is the idea that putting the interests of customers and end users ahead of your own interests and contributing to the interests of society as a whole and employees’ families, based on a spirit of altruism, will ultimately lead to profits for your company. This approach is good for the seller, good for the buyer, and good for society.
Now let’s consider what might happen if a company’s management lacks a spirit of altruism and pursues only its own interests, even if they are detrimental to the interests of others.
Let’s say that in some country, there was an executive at an automobile company, Manager A, who thought only about his own interests. To obtain even higher profits, he thought about lowering manufacturing costs to obtain a bigger price gap. However, rather than beating the competition by devoting effort to technological innovation and improving productivity, he decided to simply lower costs by requesting exorbitant price reductions from a subcontractor company that supplies parts.
Manager B at the subcontractor parts company was also someone who did not understand the “benefiting three parties” approach. He was under unreasonable pressure: if he refused A’s demands, the latter would stop ordering parts entirely. B therefore agreed to lower the prices. In other words, this is not a relationship that is “good for the seller” and “good for the buyer.” Parts supplier B could not make a profit with the reduced prices, so he too made no effort to pursue technological innovation and secretly switched to using cheap, poor-quality materials. He reduced manufacturing costs using lax, underhanded methods, such as cutting corners in required quality checks, then delivered the parts to the automobile company.
After a while, due to the inferior parts delivered by B, accidents occurred with Company A’s automobiles. However, to protect their own mutual interests, A and B colluded to cover up the accidents. In other words, their behavior was like suppressing a product recall. This is the exact opposite of being “good for society”－it is acting against the interest of society as a whole and may even be described as criminal conduct that puts people’s lives at risk. Such dishonesty will always become public knowledge. Company A and B will then lose the trust of various stakeholders, including users and shareholders, and eventually disappear from the market.
In other words, you cannot achieve real success with an approach based on the idea that everything is fine as long as you are happy. True, unrivaled success can be achieved only by sticking with the “benefiting three parties” approach, even in times of trouble, and overcoming difficulties with creative solutions.
To be continued in the next edition.
Rikio Suma, Author
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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