In response to a request from the Japan International Cooperation Center for operational support for “various activities related to industrial human resource development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” we have provided support with the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom as our counterpart. The consultant in charge flew to Saudi Arabia to explain to MIM about the plan of the scheduled training visit in Japan and received their consent.

In September 2024, we received a request for cooperation in “Small and Medium Enterprise Management Support Training in Japan.” We designed training in various manufacturing industries. The topics of the training were Toyota way Management System, Toyota Production System, and Japanese-style Management/KAIZEN, and included lectures and site visits to experience the cases introduced in the lectures.
All the participants showed a sincere and courteous learning attitude and were eager to take advantage of the opportunity to acquire knowledge, and we were confident that they would be able to apply the knowledge to the business improvement practice in their country.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Toyota Engineering Co., Ltd., Tanaka Tech Co., Ltd., Panasonic Eco Technology Center Co., Ltd., and Nabeya Co., Ltd. for kindly agreeing to receive visits and providing the delegates with great cooperation in internal briefings and work site tours.

This project is related to “activities related to industrial human resource development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” carried out based on a subsidy provided by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy. This will help strengthen the relationship and ensure a stable supply of energy for Japan.

In mid-September, 10 food-related business owners and managers came to Japan for JICA Uzbekistan-Japan Center’s recruitment-based 12-day training program, hoping to learn about Japanese-style management and utilize it in their corporate operations. Our company planned lectures on Japanese-style management, a visit to a food trade fair (FOODEX JAPAN in Kansai), visits to food related companies and participation in business exchange event.
At the companies they visited, they received seminars and opportunity to observe production sites, gained insights that will help them solve the problems they face. They were impressed by the Japanese-style management, the quality of production equipment and products, awareness and work efficiency of employees.
Also, they exchanged opinions regarding issues such as quality superiority of Japanese products and pricing, maintenance systems, distribution systems, etc., with a view to future transaction.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the following companies for accepting visit, for the training seminars by the representatives and managers, and for the tour of the factory and production equipment.
Okura Yusoki Co., Ltd., Yamato Scale Co., Ltd. , Skylark Holdings Co., Ltd., Ajinomoto Frozen Foods Co., Ltd., and The Monogatari corporation.

We received an inquiry from Sakura Books Ltd., a publisher in Uzbekistan, asking if it would be possible to publish Kumon’s Drills in the local language. We contacted Kumon Publishing and received a positive response.
Kumon Publishing Co., Ltd., Sakura Books Ltd. and Truspire Co., Ltd., reached an agreement regarding the publication of drill books. We signed a contract, valid for 5 years from July 2024, stating that Kumon Publishing approve Sakura Books to publish 4 titles of drill books in the Uzbek language and Truspire serve as Agent for  Kumon Co., Ltd.
Sakura Books starts from publishing basic drills such as “Maze”, “Alphabet”, “Numbers”, and “Letters” designed mainly for preschoolers, gradually expanding the number of drill titles and the scale of publication. They have started translating the English texts of the drills into the Uzbek language.
(November 2024)