Oita City Government – Site Tour
Oita City is the capital city of Oita Prefecture with a population of 470,000 and is located on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu. The northern coastal region of Oita Prefecture and neighbouring Fukuoka Prefecture is a base for automotive as well as iron, steel, and petroleum industries, and the inland area has many IT and precision machinery companies.
Basic Information
- Population: 470,000
- Region: Kyushu Region
- Area: 502 square kilometers
- Major Industries: Manufacturing,chemical and heavy industries, tourism etc.
Oita City Government – Lean Characteristics
Office and Service Work Improvement and Efficiency, Lean Government
Lean management started to be seriously applied to governments throughout Japan in the mid-1990s. As governments are not driven by profits, the interesting challenge in lean implementation is creating a need for improvement.
Oita City is recognized as one of the leading governments in Japan with a successful lean program. The objective of Oita City’s kaizen activities is to address the existing office and work issues within the City Hall to improve the service levels provided to citizens, increase work efficiency and heighten every employee’s hunger to change for the better.
Oita City calls its activities “Takumi”, which generally in Japanese means skilled craftsman. However, they break this word down into the sounds “ta” for tanoshiku (fun), “ku” for kufu (ingenuity) and “mi” for minna (everyone).
These activities are designed for all employees of the City to be autonomously involved. It is differentiated from employee suggestion schemes because those suggestions tend to finish at the proposal level. Kaizen activities, however, are conducted within a system with ideas that everyone can implement by themselves.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
It was an exciting experience learning about Japan’s culture and industrial mentality. I had the honor of seeing and experiencing the industrial culture in Japan and exploring the reasons for its prosperity based on the principle of “kaizen”, as well as witnessing the work environment in a distinctive way embodied in the principle of 5S. It was…
read more
Lumut, Brunei
The tour shows how industries in Japan do continuous improvement in their respective companies. I think that such concepts could also be applied in other industries as well when applied correctly within its own framework. The tour also showcases some aspects of Japanese culture which I appreciate a lot as it provides insight into the…
read more
Sydney, NSW, Australia
The Shinka Management Lean Japan Tour was a truly eye-opening experience, offering valuable insights into Lean strategies and broader team-building skills. As someone early in my leadership journey, I found the experience particularly impactful. I would highly recommend this tour not only to experienced managers, but also to emerging leaders. I look forward to applying…
read more
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The tour was a great experience on both a personal and a professional level. There was much learning and the culture we encountered was inspiring. I want to thank the Shinka Management team for their efforts in organising such a great and professionally detailed program. It was a pleasure meeting you all.
read more
Denver, Colorado, United States
This was my third visit to Japan with Shinka Management and it is difficult for me to find the right words to express my gratitude for such a well-organized tour and my appreciation for the high quality and on-target content. In my previous visits I received very valuable information related to continuous improvement principles and…
read more
Bowhill, South Australia, Australia
Paul and Ben from Shinka Management need to be commended for the tour that they ran in Japan. The experience has enlightened and energised me to intensify the lean efforts within our organisation. The tour was packed full of knowledge building as well as relationship building with other participants all whilst experiencing a cultural treat…
read more
The Shinka Management Lean Japan Tour is a professional development program run several times annually. The program includes a mix of lean and kaizen seminars, hands-on lean training and visits to several benchmark lean companies. For further information and program dates, see the lean tour overview page.
Tour Inquiries
Interested in joining us in Japan? For additional information prior to registration please fill in the form provided or contact us.