Kitakyushu
International
Techno-cooperative
Association

NEWS
No.19
2015
October

2 A message from the President
3 The 35th Anniversary Ceremony
4 KITA Information
5 Greeting of Retirement
6 Highlight of KITA Training Courses
11 Recent Activities for Overseas Development Cooperation
12 International Friendship Programs− The 35th Anniversary Ceremony of KITA −On 17 June 2015, celebrating the 35th anniversary of its foundation in 1980, Kitakyushu International
Techno-cooperative Association held a commemoration and a celebration at Industrial Club of West Japan(Tobata Ward, Kitakyushu), where we invited honorable guests including Deputy Mayor of Kitakyushu
Mr. Umemoto, Director General of JICA Kyushu Mr. Izaki and representatives of companies andinstitutions who support our international training courses and technical corporation.

Kitakyushu International Techno-cooperative Association

A Message from the President

Reviewing FY2014
results and announcing
the FY2015 plan
Hideki FURUNO, President
Ethnic problems and religious issues in places

is relatively bullish, but the training business has

such as the Middle East, Africa and Eastern

greatly affected the scale of our business and it

Europe are increasingly complicating thewent into the red for the first time in four years.

international situation, and the frequent threat of

The grim reality is that the reduction in JICA

transnational terrorism is becoming a serious

projects has a major impact on KITA. The city ofproblem. The threat of terrorism seems to be

Kitakyushu and many other entities expect us todrawing so close that it might even have acontribute to the international community and, if

considerable effect on KITA's international

we consider our future, we need some form ofactivities.

plan to break out of this difficult situation. This isWith regard to economic conditions in Japan,

why we plan to formulate a ten-year KITA

although there are clear indications of a

M a s t e r P l a n f r o m F Y 20 1 5 a n d i m p l e me n t

recovery in performance, particularly for big

business restructuring. Accordingly, it has been

companies, such as stock prices exceeding thedecided to approach FY2015 according to the

20,000 yen mark for the first time in 15 years, it isfollowing guidelines.

true to say that many observers are of theopinion that it will require a little more time

1. Enhance and improve project capabilities

before recovery can be confirmed; for example

with the aim of establishing the KITA brandthere are many reports indicating that the

2. Formulate and implement the KITA Master

effects of Abenomics have not yet percolated toprovincial areas.
Given this situation, KITA's FY2014 businessPlan
3. Further promote the streamlining of project
management

performance was greatly affected by the

4. Establish ourselves as a public interest

decrease in the number of JICA training courses

incorporated foundation, and ensure

as a consequence of Japan's review of its ODA

transparency, fairness and disclosure

policy. There has been a decrease of more than2

40% in income from training projects in

These business guidelines will play a centralcomparison with FY2011, which produced therole in the reforms carried out to transform KITA

greatest revenue in the past five years. Ouras we mark our 35th anniversary. I humbly ask

other business of technical assistance projects

for your continued support and cooperation.

KITA NEWS No.19

KITA information
The Ceremony to Commemorate KITA's 35th Anniversary
Naokatsu FUJIWARA, Senior Managing Director, Secretary Generaln July 14, 1980 the Junior Chamber International

O Kitakyushu, the Kitakyushu Chamber of Commerceand Industry and the Industry Club of West Japan held ageneral meeting in the main hall of the Mainichi Kaikan in
Kokurakita Ward to establish the Kitakyushu International
Training Association, abbreviated to KITA (the Japanesename w as r ev ised t o K i t ak y us hu In t er na t ional
Techno-cooperative Association in 1994). KITA wascreated with the aim of transferring to developing
coun tries t he indus trial technology amassed by
Kitakyushu. In the 35 years since then, KITA has steadily
promoted international technology transfers. The scope of
those technology transfers now embraces 151 countries
and involves nearly 8,000 participants. At the start, KITA's
financial infrastructure was established thanks to theenthusiasm its three parent organizations and their
devoted action, and our initial activities proceededsmoothly with a system of industry-academic-government
cooperation put in place. The path to KITA's growth anddevelopment then opened up.
The ceremony to commemorate our 35th anniversarybegan with a speech of welcome from President Hideki
Furuno, followed by a congratulatory address from Deputy
Mayor of Kitakyushu Kazuhide Umemoto, speaking on
behalf of Mayor Kenji Kitahashi who was unable to attend
due to other business, and then a congratulatory addressfrom Hiroshi Izaki, Director General of the JICA Kyushu
International Center.
President Furuno reported on the current status of KITA
and spoke about its business guidelines, and thenexpressed his gratitude in the speech given below.

become an invaluable human asset for the cit y of
Kitakyushu.
On April 1, 2012 we made a fresh start as a public interest
incorporated foundation, and have clearly defined ouridentity as a corporate body that serves the public good.
KITA is organized around three types of activities:
international training, technical cooperation andinternational friendship promotion. Taking the investigationof “what is typical of KITA and “the advantages of being
based in Kitakyushu" as a basic policy, we have drawn up
management guidelines based upon this policy every otheryear and then acted upon them.
Given the worsening business environment, today weembark upon the KITA Master Plan. In order to establishing
the KITA brand, we aim to provide solutions based upon afirm comprehension of the needs and performance of thecountries involved in our training, as well as aiming tosupport the global expansion of small and medium-sized
Kitakyushu companies and create win-win situations. In
addition to this, we aim to get into the black, trying tointegrate a profit-making business.
Today I would like to present you with a letter of thanks
and a DVD of our activities as an expression of gratitude
for all your support and cooperation.
I would like to conclude my speech by asking you for yourcontinued support and cooperation in further enhancing
the value of Kitakyushu and indeed of Japan."

Giving a toast at the party

The president's speechPresenting a letter of thanks"I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for all the
support and assistance from so many people since KITA
was established in 1980, thanks to which we are able tocelebrate our 35th anniversary.
Since KITA's founding, with the support of 605 investment
institutions and individuals, 3 30 organizations thatcollaborate in our training courses, and many course
leaders and lecturers, we have continued our activities
based on the volunteer spirit right up to the present day. Asof the last fiscal year, we have a tally of 151 countries thatjoin in our training courses w i t h a total of 7, 3 8 9participants, and have been able to form a network
comprised of around 2,000 former participants. It truly has

Screening the 35th anniversary video

We have received guidance and assistance from so very
many people over the past 35 years, and by rights weshould express our gratitude to each and every one ofthem. However, due to the constraints of the venue, wewere forced to invite a limited number of guests as theirrepresentatives, to whom the president presented lettersof thanks. Although we presented the guests with acommemorative DVD of KITA's activities, time was also
made during the ceremony to screen the DVD for thosepresent.
Despite the small venue, the ceremony was attended by
50 guests, including members of the board of councilors
and the board of directors, and their warm wishes filled theroom with a celebratory atmosphere.
We were once again filled with gratitude for all theongoing support for KITA.

KITA NEWS No.19

3

KITA information
Ⅰ．KITA’s Medium and Long Term Policies
1. Accumulation of KITA’s assets
2. Investigation of “what is typical of KITA” and the advantages of being based in Kitakyushu

Ⅱ．FY2014 Results
We steadily implemented the five management guidelines given below,
but our revenue declined by about 30% under the impact of the overall
reduction in the number of JICA projects, and as a result we posted afinancial deficit.
1．Intensify surveying and finding out overseas needs and building
overseas networks(1) The identification and sharing of needs in collaboration with JICA
and related administrative divisions of the Kitakyushu municipal
government is very close to completion.
(2) Overseas needs are being identified and summarized.
(3) Development and utilization of networks with former participants
overseas has begun.
2．Enhance and improve the project capabilities of training andtechnical cooperation(1) Closer cooperation between KITA divisions has been almost
completely achieved.
(2) The establishment of a system for cooperation with JICA andrelated administrative divisions of the Kitakyushu municipal
government is very close to completion.
(3) Formulation and implementation of the annual plan has beennormalized.
3．Get KITA’s current account balance firmly into the black(1) The improvement of the accuracy of KITA’s income andexpenditure plan, and securement of a medium and long term
forecast is very close to being achieved.

(2) A policy and system to improve the profitability in each KITA
division is very close to being established.
4．Promote a three-year plan for the maintenance of our IT infrastructure(1) The development of the operations support system that forms thecore of our IT infrastructure is now complete.
(2) The expansion of the use of the IT infrastructure and promotion oftraining for the introduction of the operations support system isvery close to being achieved.
5．Establish ourselves as a public interest incorporated foundation:
secure transparency and disclose information(1) Two years have passed since we were recognized as a public
interest incorporated foundation, and we are very nearly settled
into our new system.
(2) Our management as a public interest incorporated foundation issteadily becoming entrenched.
●Financial results
Revenue: 226.5 million yen Expenditure: 234.5 million yen(Planned revenue: 304.1 million yen Planned expenditure: 303.5
million yen)
Due to the decrease in training course business (roughly 25% fewer
than had been planned) that resulted from JICA's overall project
downsizing, our net income was roughly 8.7 million yen less than had
been planned (-8.1 million yen).

Ⅲ．FY2015 Plan
FY2015 marks KITA's 35th anniversary, and we have decided to focus
upon future-oriented restructuring during the nex t decade andimplement the four management guidelines.
1. Enhance and improve project capabilities with the aim of establishing
the KITA brand(1) Training brand: Reliable implementation, from the grasp of local
needs to follow-up on outcomes① Comprehension of local needs② Providing solutions and effective expertise, information andexperience③ Building a win-win relationship between the countries
par ticipated in a training course and the companies
collaborated in it④ Reliable follow-up on the outcomes of training courses⑤ Greater utilization of networks with former participants
overseas(2) Technical assistance brand: Global deployment of small andmedium-sized Kitakyushu companies① Support for small and medium-sized Kitakyushu companies
starting up activities overseas (act as as a coordinator)- Finding out the needs of overseas companies andmatching them with what Kitakyushu companies canoffer- Expanding markets by proactively launching activities
overseas and establishing production systems such as
joint ventures with overseas companies② Proactive collaboration to launch activities overseas withrelated organizations
・Kitakyushu municipal government
・Japan Association for Trade with Russia and NIS(ROTOBO)

4

KITA NEWS No.19

・Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
・Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME)
・Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)③ Aggressively boosting our brand awareness overseas via
activities such as overseas seminars and forums④ Greater utilization of networks with former participants
overseas
2. Formulate and implement the KITA Master Plan
(1) FY2015: Final draft of the KITA Master Plan (10-year plan)- Giving concrete form to the scheme to establish the KITA
brand(2) FY2015: Start to move forward with the KITA Master Plan
- Starting work on the realization of the KITA brand3. Further promote the streamlining of project management(1) Clarifying the respective roles of organizations and operations,and boosting coordination between organizations
・Streamlining administrative work and reducing costs(2) Promoting effective use of the IT infrastructure and improving its
functions4. Establish ourselves as a public interest incorporated foundation, andensure transparency, fairness and disclosure(1) Scrupulously protecting information and providing full disclosure(2) Preparation of the relevant documents for external audits by the
Cabinet Office and Kitakyushu municipal government●Financial Plan
Revenue: 256.3 million yen
Expenditure: 256.2 million yen (Including Master Plan: 276.2 million
yen)Profits: Regular business : + 92 thousand yen(Including Master Plan: -19.898 thousand yen)Resignation message
Words of Farewell on Leaving KITA
Kazuya KUDO, Councilor of KITA
I lef t the posi tion of full-time
executive of K ITA at the end of
March this year. Ten years havepassed since I started working for
KITA. What motivated me to workfor KITA was the request from theformer president, Dr. Takuo Kono
w ho pas sed away t his March .
Despite my initial hesitation, I remember making up mymind when he said, “Think of this request as your destiny
and do me the favor of accepting it!” In memory of Dr.
Kono, I would like to look back at these ten years.
The first job I was engaged in at KITA was the training
course for senior members of Chinese steel works in which
ten persons of department head level from ten Chinese
steel works participated. Out of regard for technology
leakage issues, the curriculum was so arranged thatenvironmental improvement technology would be its focus.
The participants were highly competent and now areplaying an active role as leading members at steel works
back in their home country. (Chinese annual crude steel
production was around 350 million tons at that time, but
presently exceeds 800 million tons.) The steel works towhich the participants belonged were mostly medium tolarge-sized s teel works. In these s teel works,
environmental measures learned during training in Japan
are implemented, however, as far as other small-sized steel
w o r k s ar e co nce r n e d , t h e ac t ual i t y i s t ha t s uch
environmental measures are still not put into practice.
Environmental measures taken in industrial fields otherthan steel works are not good enough, resulting in PM2.5
drifting to Japan even today. This year again, cooperation
with regard to environmental improvement is supposed to
be planned for Beijing and other cities in China.
The next job I was engaged in was a shakeup of theTechnical Cooperation Division. The Technical Cooperation
Division of that time was merely an organization in name,lacking substance. Ten years ago, it was difficult for small
and medium-sized enterprises in Japan to expand overseas
on their own. Against such a backdrop, I decided that themain theme of the Division should be to focus on support
for the overseas expansion of small and medium-sizedenterprises. When we started, there was a sharing of roles
between Dr. Fujimoto and I, in which Dr. Fujimoto was incharge of Vietnam and I was in charge of Russia. To expand
our target countries, it was necessary to recruit competenthuman r e s our ce s t o make up f or t he s hor t age o f
manpower. Mr. Nobuaki Tanaka was the first person and
Mr. Eiji Wada the second to join our group. In later years,
we asked Mr. Toshikatsu Miyata for his cooperation and to
take Mr. Wada’s place when he moved to Nagoya. We
were further blessed with the participation of Mr. Mitsuaki
Kawashima.
As a result, the target countries of our needs surveys
overseas have expanded remarkably, to include countries
such as Indonesia, Taiwan, Korea, Middle Eas terncountries like Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Support from thegovernment and the local administration is essential for theneeds surveys made overseas. We have performed themwith the cooperation of the Industr y and Economics
Bureau and t he Environmen t Bureau of t he Ci t y of
Kitakyushu, JICA, JETRO, ROTOBO, JCCME, Korea-Japanand Japan-Korea foundations, and many other relatedorganizations. At present, the small and medium-sizedenterprises of Kitakyushu are most interested in Vietnam,
where many of them have succeeded in expanding theirbusiness. However, in the near future, labor costs in
Vietnam will increase and it will become necessary to look
for the next targets.
KITA has formulated a new master plan (the primaryplan) ef fective from this year onwards. The Training
Division and the Technical Cooperation Division will jointly
be aiming at business expansion from a long-term
perspective. Initially, KITA is required to make concerted
efforts to move forward in the first year of the master plan
exactly as planned. To that end, I would like the Training
Division and the Technical Cooperation Division to tackle
that goal in an integrated manner although they will
confront so many issues.
I would like to give my thanks for being allowed to workfor public benefit together with the greatest of colleagues
in the final chapter of my business career.
The basic philosophy of KITA is to make international
contributions with a volunteer spirit. I expect KITA to keep
this philosophy in mind as it pushes forward vigorously
toward its brilliant future. I wish you all the best of luck forsuccess and good health.
Thank you.

KITA NEWS No.19

5

Highlights of KITA training courses
1. Results of JICA training courses implemented in FY2014№

Title of training course

classiﬁcation

Number ofParticipant

CourseLeaderTraining period
2014/4〜2015/3

1

Air Pollution Source Management

10

A.Kido2014/5/14〜2014/6/27

2

Environmental Education

14

S.Haraguchi

2014/5/28〜2014/7/03

3

Waste management Technique (A)８

S.Haraguchi

2014/10/22〜2014/12/19

Management of Composting Project (A)12

T.Sashiwa

2014/8/25〜2014/9/12

5Management of Composting Project (B)10

K.Kido2014/10/29〜2014/11/25

6

Industrial Pollution Control Management

7

Junji.Kawasaki

2015/2/2〜2015/4/24

7

Capacity Development in Industrial Pollution Management for Iraq

12

S.Haraguchi

2015/3/18〜2015/3/30

1Water Environment Administration

10

T.Ueyama

2014/6/16〜2014/7/04

2

Wastewater

Capacity Development in Waste Water Treatment Sector for Kosovo

10

H.Sueta

2014/10/20〜2014/11/7

3

treatment

Sewerage Administration for Vietnam

10

S.Yazu2014/11/26〜2014/12/8

4Operation and Maintenance of Sewerage System

9

H.Sueta

2015/1/25〜2015/3/6

1

Dissemination of Productivity Improvement Activity in the Latin-American Countries

7

K.Kawasaki

2014/6/09〜2014/7/18

4

2

Environment
management

Production
technology

Maintenance Management for Productivity Improvement8

Jun-ichi.Kawasaki

2015/2/18〜2015/4/23

3

Practical Technology for Mechatronics and Robots

8

M.Taniguchi

2015/1/30〜2015/4/22

1

Energy Eﬃciency and Renewable Energy

10

Y.Terada

2014/5/12〜2014/5/27

2

Policy Planning for Energy Eﬃciency & Conservation C

12

K.Kawaguchi

2015/7/7〜2015/8/1

3

Alternative Power Generation Technology for Low Carbon Society (A)9T.Fujii

2014/5/19〜2014/6/18

8

T.Fujii

2014/10/20〜2014/11/19

4
5

Alternative Power Generation Technology for Low Carbon Society (B)Energyconservation

8/14

Promotion of Energy Conservation in Commercial and Residential Sector (A)6

K.Kawaguchi

2014/9/25〜2014/11/10

6Energy Conservation Techniques for India (1)16

S.Yamato

2015/3/30〜2015/5/1

7

Solar Power Generation Technology

12

T.Ueyama

2015/2/23〜2015/4/28

8

Alternative Power Generation Technology for Low Carbon Society (C)5

S.Yazu2015/2/23〜2015/3/25

9Promotion of Energy Conservation in Commercial and Residential Sector (B)10

K.Kawaguchi

2015/2/4〜2015/3/19

1

Capacity Development for Entrepreneurs and MSMEs Activation in African Countries (A)10

M.Kosugi

2014/5/30〜2014/6/26

2

Reinforcement of Administrative Capacity for Food Sanitation

8

K.Nakahara

2014/10/02〜2014/11/14

3

Small and Medium Enterprises/Local Industry Activation for Central and South American Countries

12

Y.Miki2014/8/01〜2014/8/28

4Vocational
training
andHealthcare

Training Program for Japanese Descendants

7

Y.Miki2014/10/13〜2014/10/29

Practical Human Resource Development in Electrical and Electronic Engineering for Africa

12

N.Kyura2014/7/24〜2014/9/25

6

Capacity Development for Entrepreneurs and MSMEs Activation in African Countries (B)10

M.Kosugi

2014/10/06〜2014/11/06

7

Project for Improving OVOP Services in Kenya

15

Y.Nakashima

2014/8/29〜2014/9/5

8Strengthening Marketing Capacity for SMEs

10

T.Miyamoto

2015/2/24〜2015/3/13

5

2. Participants visiting Japan in FY2014●Participants by area（Number and a ratio）
Middle East（43/14％）

Europe（21/7％）
Oceania（9/3％）

East Africa

South America（33/11％）（43/14％）

Total
304
Central America（40/13％）（75/25％）KITA NEWS No.19

West Africa（18/6％）

North Africa（15/5％）

Asia

6

Africa（83/27 ％）In FY 2014, 304 participants joined
the JICA training courses.
Especially, Africa area sent the most,
83 participants.

South Africa（4/1％）
Central Africa（3/1％）

Playing a Role to Create a Country and Communities free from Pollution「Capacity Development in Industrial Pollution Management for Iraq」Course
Kiyoshi HARAGUCHI, Course Leader
In Iraq, environmental pollution issues such as air pollution,water pollution and industrial waste treatment problems haveemerged and a ser ious si t ua t ion is ar ising due t o t hedevelopment of the petrochemical industry, the country’s majorindustry, since the Iran-Iraq War.
Against such a backdrop, in March 2015, 13 persons in chargeof environment-related divisions of the Minis tr y of theEnvironment of Iraq and local governments were sent to learn
about industrial environmental measures taken in Japan.
Thanks to the textbooks prepared in Arabic and the assignmentof an interpreter, the par ticipants could freely develop
discussions in their own language and deepen their mutual
understanding. Taking into consideration the fact that 90
percent of Iraq’s revenue comes from the petrochemicalindus t r y, subject s were arranged so t hat policies andtechnologies concerning air, water and solid wastes could belearned efficiently within a short period of training.
Out of eagerness to promote the construction of a functioning
state and functioning cities, the participants asked a great manyquestions, which made me feel that, with this eagerness, theenvironmental pollution issues would be solved in the not too
distant future. But it struck me to the core when one of theparticipants said that while Japan had more or less succeededin solving environmental issues in the space of 20 years, Iraq
would probably not have accomplished so much even 200 years
later. I sincerely hope for an early restoration of peace.
In front of a large-sized combined
septic tank at FUJI CLEAN CO., LTD.

In front of a wind farmat Hibikinada North Green Park

Expectations for the Training Outcome「Strengthening Marketing Capacity for SMEs」
CourseTadashi MIYAMOTO, Course Leader
Iran’s national policy is to make a shift in its exports frommining products to manufactured products, agricultural
products and IT-related goods. The potential is high with thesteel production of the country being the second largest in the
Near and Middle East and its automobile production having arecord of 1.6 million cars per year. Nine participants joined thisround of training from the Exportation Promotion Center. I did
have concerns about the par ticipants’ level of hands-on
experience and powers of comprehension, however, they
showed a strong interest in learning and all the participants
reviewed their lessons every t wo days. My worries weregroundless.
T hey came to unders tand the primar y impor tance ofe s t ab lis hing pr oduc t ion s y s t em s o f high - quali t y,
high-value-added products and distinctive characteristics thatcan be recognized worldwide. We took a daylong stroll throughKokura and along the Kanmon Strait and experienced Japan’sculture and manners, though many of the participants drifted off
one after another along the way.
On the last day of the course, I used a diagram of overall
enterprise activities, instructing them that what they hadlearned was just a part of the whole and their studies had to becontinued, and that practical application of the theory in thefield was essential because knowing something and doing it are
fundamentally dif ferent . T here was feedback from theparticipants saying that they well understood through thiscourse that they had been unaware of many things and thatfurther efforts were required. As the lecturers also could
experience the participants’ culture, view of the world andconcept of values, the course ended up being a mutually fruitfulone.
I expect to hear good news from them at some point in the
future.
The participants relaxing
after the IAS presentation

Learning the historyof the developmentof local industries

KITA NEWS No.19

7

Highlights of KITA training courses
Aiming at the Promotion of Composting in Central and South America「Management of Composting Project」Course
Kozo KIDO, Course Leader
The 2014 training course was held for the duration of about
one month with ten participants from nine countries, including
the Republic of Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
Although composting is undertaken in many countries inCentral and South America, the composting technology is notver y advanced. Too much time (generally more than fourmonths) is taken for composting and the product is poor in
quality. Many other problems also lie ahead of them.
The participants in this training consisted mainly of state
government or local government officials and most of them had
no field experience of composting. However, a participant from
Ecuador, who is a composting engineer in a public corporation,
had substantial technical capabilities and awareness of theissues. The training covered the composting technologies
applicable to household garbage (the Takakura method andthree others), livestock waste, pruned branches and sludge.
Also, since many of the par ticipants were interested inmarketing, examples of marketing in Asia were explained andstudies were made about branding.
There seem to be many difficult conditions involved in finding

a way to promote composting that is appropriate to theirrespective countries, however, I sincerely hope that they will
start with what they can do and then move forward step bystep adopting an empirical approach.
Training about making “bokashi”
compost (Eating small carrots raw)

Training about windrow composting(at Imari Hachigame Plan)

Expecting the Earliest Introduction of Renewable Energy「Alternative Power Generation Technology for Low Carbon Society」Course
Shoji YAZU, Course Leader
Modern societ y is facing a serious problem of global
warming and depletion of fossil fuels due to increased energy
consumption.
Par ticipant s were invited from island countries (fivecountries) and developing countries (two countries) whereenergy consumption is comparatively small for today’s world,
and technical training was held to introduce various types ofalternative power generation technology toward the creationof a low carbon society, and for the participants to become
capable of applying the technology to the energy policies of
their own countries.
The above countries are reliant upon imported crude oil andhydroelectric power, and are confronting a possible problem ofadverse impacts on the local infrastructure arising out of
escalating costs for the electric power as a result of difficultyin obtaining crude oil and functional paralyses of the hydraulicpower generation plants due to flooding.
T he par ticipant s in this training course consis ted ofadministrative officers and employees of state-run powercompanies, who share the same task of creating a low carbon
societ y. To help the par ticipants solve their issues andproblems, the course was so arranged as to introduce thestatus of Japan’s power supply and energy policies, its actions
toward the creation of a low carbon societ y, its energy
conservation policies, and various types of renewable energy

8KITA NEWS No.19

utilization technology, along with many other useful curricula.
The participants evaluated the course as being good, andwhat they had learned resulted in their action plans, all ofwhich looked promising. I sincerely hope that the participants
will use the outcome of their training in Japan for the creationof low carbon societies and for the improvement of theelectrification rate in their countries, and that low carbon
societies will be realized at the earliest possible date.
Visit to J-Power
Wakamatsu Research Center

Visit to Kyushu Electric Power
Mega Solar Omuta

“Revision of Living Habits” : the First Step in Promoting Energy Conservation in Civilian Sector「Promotion of Energy Conservation in Commercial and Residential Sector」Course
Kenji KAWAGUCHI, Course Leader
The training course “Promotion of Energy Conservation in
Commercial and Residential Sector” has been implemented forthree years for the purpose of assisting developing countries topromote energy conservation in the civilian sector, and the lastround of this course was held from February 1 this year for theduration of seven weeks.
Ten participants from seven countries in Central America,
the Middle East and Oceania joined this round of training
looking for the keys to coping with the rapidly increasingenergy demand in the civilian sector, especially the demand forelectricity, resulting from their economic growth and changes
in lifestyle.
Hav ing lear ned abou t gover nmen t ac t i v i t ies for t hepromotion of energy conservation in of fice buildings andhouseholds, actual applications of the energy conservation
technologies and renewable energy and so on, each of theparticipants summed up their respective achievements in theiraction plans for solving the issues. The contents of the plans,
which were drawn up based on their common recognition thatenergy consumption in the civilian sector depends largely ont h e l i v i n g h ab i t s a n d a w a r e n e s s o f t h e c o n s u m e r s ,demonstrated the eagerness and high level of achievement of
the participants. The persons in charge of the course felt

greatly rewarded.
This course will be held again from this fiscal year onward
under a new form, for which I intend to draw upon theexperience of these three past years so that the course will be
more helpful to the participants and respond to their needs.
KYOTO CO-OP store(Visit to an example of energy
conservation in supermarkets)

Azbil Corporation(Visit to an example of energy
conservation in office buildings)

Aiming at Enhancement of Execution Capabilities by “Taking Notice”「Local Industry Activation for Central and South American Countries」Course
Yoshio MIKI, Course Leader
This is the tenth round of this training course since it first
opened in FY2007. 112 participants from 18 countries have so
far attended the course.
This time, in accordance with JICA policy, the focus was on“enhancement of execution capabilities” and the curriculum
was revised for that purpose. The first revision was theintroduction of “making propositions to enterprises throughfactory diagnoses”. This is a practical exercise performed aftergaining an understanding of the theor y. Specifically, theparticipants each write down on a Post-it the good points andthe points to be improved that they have noticed during theirvisit and, af ter summarizing the points in groups, make apresentation to the president or the staff of the company
visited and ask for their opinion. The second revision was thepractical training of “fishing methods without fish” in which the
purpose should be sought before the means. As an applicationof the “strategic triangle”, which is internationally recognized
as a way of thinking to improve managerial qualit y, theparticipants prepared their own “organization profile” and, by
noticing the issues of the organization, looked for the points for
improvement or reform.
I believe firmly that, thanks to this training, the participants

have come to think more practically than before, and that theiraction plans will be put into practice back in their homecountries.
Field study at Oyama-machi
Konohana Garten

Factory diagnosis presentations
at SUNAQUA TOTOKITA NEWS No.19

9

Highlights of KITA training courses
Many thanks for your cooperation in the training of “Industrial Safety
in the Workplace” for the sewerage system training course

To: KES Co., Ltd.
〒806-0025
Higashikanbara 3-31, Yahata-nishi, Kitakyushu
Tel: 093-644-0220
URL: http://www.kes-21.co.jp/company/summary.php

Safety meeting before the work in the field
Participants attended the meeting of the team engaged in the task

Safety management in the workplace is an unavoidable
theme throughout the cons truction, operation andmaintenance of sewerage system facilities, although thetraining in the course of “Operation and Maintenance ofS ewer age S y s t em” is cen t ered on t he oper a t ion andmaintenance of sewerage systems. Accordingly, we asked
KES Co., Ltd. to provide training on safety management in thefield, which is very important for field work.
KES Co., Ltd. specializes in water-related operations for
local governments in Kitakyushu and other areas. Its corebusinesses include the operation and maintenance of waterand sewerage facilities business, the environmental plantbusiness and the solutions business (such as the installation,
replacement, repair and maintenance of equipment on-site aten v i r o n m en t al p lan t s) . A s o ne o f i t s r ep r e s e n t a t i v ebusinesses, the company has long been entrusted by the cityof Kitakyushu with the operation and maintenance of theKitakyushu Hiagari Treatment Center. The company has athorough knowledge of the maintenance and inspection ofequipment, as well as in-depth experience in the field ofindustrial safety.
In the training this time, lessons were given on how safety
management is practiced in such tasks as the inspection andoil change of a submerged agitator from the bot tom of an
aeration tank at a sewerage treatment facilit y which had
been hoisted onto the floor.
Prior to the field work, the supervisor and the workers
gathered together in a meeting room and explanations were
given concerning the breakdown of the work, the procedures

10

KITA NEWS No.19

Hajime SUETA, Course Leader

and the task assignments, and discussions were held toassess the risks accompanying the work. The participantsjoined the team from this stage.
The supervisor had the workers read the points to note in
the work . T here were about ten point s to note and theworkers were made to read one point each. As an example,
one worker read, “Be sure to wear a helmet, and tighten thechin strap to protect the head.” Then a participant was madeto read the same sentence in the same way (in English though,not Japanese.) Subsequently, the second worker was made toread, “Crane operation should only be done by a qualified
opera t or, and so on”, f ollowed by a repe t i t ion f r om ap a r t i ci p a n t . S uch p r o ce d u r e s w e r e d e v i s e d f o r t h eparticipants to have a feeling of involvement although they
were not allowed to be engaged in the actual work.
After the prior meeting, the participants headed for the site.
In t he f ield, t he super visor explained t he work for t heparticipants in real time and the participants raised questions
and absorbed knowledge about the safety measures.
As this training course was held during the winter season, it
had to be carried out in a cold windy coastal workplace. The
supervisor had a difficult role to play, giving instructions to
the workers and at the same time giving explanations to theparticipants. I feel grateful every time I come here. There
were comments from the participants saying, “The lectures
accompanied by field practices were very meaningful for us
to think about safety measures.” Thank you very much.
Your continued cooperation would be greatly appreciated.

Commemorative photo after the work
The training was made possible by the cooperation of the eight workers

Recent activities for overseas development cooperation
Toward Expansion of Business Chances in Singapore
Toshikatsu MIYATA, Technical Adviser
Singapore: the countr y with continued grow th that is
attracting attention as the focal point of the financing andlogistics in the ASEAN region. The significance of this country is
increasing with the prospect of the ASEAN economic integration
planned for the end of this year. KITA conducted a survey in
February this year jointly with the city of Kitakyushu about thefeasibility of business interaction with Singaporean enterprises.
In Singapore, the shipbuilding industry and the petrochemicalindustry have kept growing since the 1960s and, with regard to
the petrochemical industry in particular, a big cluster has been
formed. Steep rises in labor costs and utility costs such as
electricity and water charges have created a serious situation
for it, boosting interest in high-efficiency process equipment,
energy-saving equipment and environmental equipment.
Another point is that in this country, known in particular for its
financing and logistics potential, there are also many trading
companies and sales companies of machinery related to thepetrochemical industry, making it a sales base in the ASEAN
region, which means that such merchandise is sought.
In addition, the countr y of fers a reassuring businessenvironment for overseas enterprises with its lower political risk,

greater abundance of competent human resources and moreclearly distinct legal system when compared to other countries.
Based on the above-stated survey results, KITA is committed
to advancing assistance for business interaction relating to
up-to-date technologies and products to save energy and boost
efficiency, as well as technologies and products to improve thequality of plant maintenance.
Listening to the explanation about
the economic trends
The speed of economic growth isenormous.

Poster session
Interest in Japan’s advanced
technologies and products is high.

The Image of Vietnam Dramatically Changed!
Appreciation for the Interaction with Vietnam!
Hideyuki Abe, Sales Manager, Industrial Machinery Bureau, Hamada Heavy Industries Ltd.
The interaction between Hamada Heavy Industries andVietnam was triggered by the invitation by KITA to the JETRO
Regional Industry Tie-Up (RIT) program (Kitakyushu- Hanoi and
Haiphong) in May 2 013. Although our company has hadinteractions with China and Korea, this would be our firstexperience of interaction with Vietnam.
According to KITA’s advice to start the interaction with“getting to know Vietnam”, we started by collecting quotations
for steel fabrication (fabrication of structural steel). Quotations
arrived from several companies via KITA which were, to oursurprise, unexpectedly cheap. The visit to Vietnam was in
September of that year. One of the companies we visited hadreceived instruction in the “5S” as part of JICA’s grassroots
technical assistance project, thanks to which the factory was
well-organized and the workmanship of the products was goodenough, which made us believe that satisfactory products could
be produced if only a little bit of instruction was given.
The first consignment contract for fabrication was concludedin January 2014 and after meetings and inspections held on
several subsequent occasions, the container arrived at Moji Portin April, in strict accordance with the delivery time. The products
were satisfactory. The factory personnel were all very earnest
and readily accepted our requests. Our image of Vietnam has
dramatically changed to an excellent one.

Since then, we have been gradually increasing the volume oftransactions and are placing orders with them for the fabricationof products for Japanese market.
From now on, with a view to expanding our business to thedomestic market in Vietnam and to other counties in South East
Asia, we would like to continue business interactions with
Vietnam.
A business discussionin Haiphong
The meeting received
TV coverage.

The first production
consignment
The workmanshipwas excellent.

KITA NEWS No.19

11

Topics
KITA International Friendship Programs
All Aboard for a Springtime Bus Trip
Toshiko MATSUMOTO, Director, General Affairs Section, Secretariat
he hibernation season was over, so on the evening of

T March 5 we scrambled aboard a Spina bus along witha group of participants still bundled up in warm coats. The
group of us going to attend "An Evening at The Industry Clubof West Japan (The Former Matsumoto Residence)" included
23 participants from three courses (Practical Technology for
Mechatronics and Robots, Industrial Pollution Control
Managemen t , and Mai n t enance Managemen t f or
Productivity Improvement) and three course leaders.
The Matsumoto Residence has an elegant Western-stylebuilding and a refined Japanese-style one, neither of which
the general public is usually allowed to enter. T he
construction of the residence and its furnishings are
extremely beautiful. Listening to the insightful explanationsof the guide and interpreter, I was not the only one who
perceived this residence as a symbol of the breathless paceof Japan's rise to prosperity from the Meiji Era onwards.
Dinner included an abundant array of vegetarian dishes
that made extensive use of halal ingredients. By far the mostpopular dish was a huge simmered tuna head. A server
standing next to the table scooped out the flesh with a big
spoon and served it onto the guests' plates. A queue swiftly
formed and by the time we had lined up there was nothingleft of the head but bones lying on the platter. I felt that I had
glimpsed how strongly interested in Japanese culture andcuisine the participants were, an inquisitiveness that went
beyond intellectual curiosity.
After eating and drinking for a while, we moved on to theJapanese-style building where the tea ceremony teacher
Ms. Date and her pupils ser ved us tea. Ms. Date is avolunteer who is always ready to hold a tea ceremony andexplain the history of the Way of Tea.
Questions poured forth from the participants that evening.
They started by asking about the history and philosophy of
the tea ceremony, and there was even a question about why
people remain in the seated position and use their hands toslide across the tatami during the tea ceremony, rather thanstanding up to walk past the other people there. The

participant who asked the question clearly understood
immediately when told that it would inconvenience theseated guests if someone stood up and walked past them. It
seemed that he not only understood that etiquette, but also
compared it with the lifestyle of his own country and was
keenly aware of how very different they were. It is no easy
matter to visit a foreign country and experience its culture ata deep level. I was reminded how truly important it is toexperience the hospitality of a country and the essence of its
culture during the limited period of your stay there. Although
the participant may have momentarily felt the distance
between Japan and Africa, I think that countries can bebrought closer together by mutual understanding andrespect for each others' cultures.
A game of bingo was held at the end of the event. The sightof the participants' delight at receiving the small prizes, as if
they had returned to the innocence of childhood, made me
feel very happy as well. A number of participants asked me
who the Japanese lady depicted in the mural was and I
hazarded a guess that she was Yaoya Oshichi. There weretimes when I was really impressed by how curious they wereabout everything.
At 9 p.m. we boarded the Spina bus that had come to fetch
us and left The Former Matsumoto Residence.
Computers, amusement parks, Kojima, high technology,
cars.... We wanted to convey that the Japanese culture
typified by such things is underpinned by something that issolemn and unshakable, and I felt that we had probably
successfully achieved our aim.

A toast for a successful
outcome to their training

After the participants' first tasteof green tea and dried confectionaries

All correspondence should be addressed to Administration Bureau of KITA:
International Village Center, 1-1-1 Hirano, Yahatahigashi-ku, Kitakyushu City, JAPAN, 805-0062

NEWS

No.19 October, 2015
K itakyushu
I nternational
T echno-cooperative
Association

TEL: +81-93-662-7171 FAX: +81-93-662-7177
E-mail: info@kita.or.jp Web site: http://www.kita.or.jp/english/● Web site in English includes KITA’s outline, recent activities and journals published previously.

TEL & FAX of Other Divisions of KITA are as follows:
Training Division

TEL: +81-93-662-7173 FAX: +81-93-662-7177
Technical Cooperation Division

TEL: +81-93-662-7174 FAX: +81-93-662-7177

E-mail: info@kita.or.jp
E-mail: info@kita.or.jp