Nissan Motor Kyushu – Factory Tour
Nissan Motor Kyushu is one of five manufacturing sites across Japan producing finished vehicles for Nissan. The company started its operation in 1975 as the first car manufacturing company in Kyushu. It is located on the coast of Suo Sea in Fukuoka Prefecture in the northern Kyushu region.

Corporate Information
- Company: Nissan Motor Kyushu
- Foundation: 1975
- Location: Headquartered in Fukuoka Prefecture
- Main Business: Manufacturing of automobiles and car parts

Nissan Motor Kyushu – Lean Characteristics
Synchronized Production, Nissan Production Way
Nissan Motor Kyushu has the capacity to produce 530,000 of the Serena and X-Trail/Rogue models per year. Nissan Motor Kyushu ships directly from its port aside the factory to destinations around the world. One ship can carry around 5,000 vehicles parked just 10 centimeters apart.
The Nissan Production Way (NPW) is the Nissan version of TPS. It is a manufacturing system that synchronizes all production processes on the basis of customer order information in order to maintain the production sequence and delivery time.
Nissan does not operate with a kanban system to achieve this. Instead, it utilizes an approach it calls doki seisan, or synchronized production, to minimize waste and drive continuous improvement on the shop floor to produce reliable and high-quality vehicles within a short lead time.

Had the pleasure to accompany Ben and clients on the 2007 Lean Japan Tour. I had worked with many Japanese, ASEAN, UK and US firms and as such have participated in benchmarking assignments and tours of their operations. Some involved attending and presenting at various strategy, productivity and quality management conferences. In that context, I…
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The fact that you can go past all the books and see the Toyota Production System in action first hand is fantastic. It is not sold in a complicated form by those involved but rather the opposite. The training room was found to be hands on and simple allowing us to touch and feel examples…
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It was an excellent tour – professionally run and well executed. The companies selected implemented lean at a high degree. The passion they exhibited in sharing their lean journey was very inspiring. I have learned new strategies to bring home to implement. A time well spent.
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Paul, I just wanted to reach out and give my sincere thanks for an amazing week in Japan. You and your team of experts across all areas of business and language gave me an unforgettable experience and reminded me of so many aspects of lean that I had put to one side or taken for…
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Shinka Management organized an excellent tour. It was structured to capture professional development and cultural experience. The tour also provided me with experiences related not only to the local culture and food of Japan, but also to the culture and languages of fellow participants from all over the world. This tour has made a significant…
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This trip really enlightened me in some specific lean topics and showed me all the beneficial aspects of lean manufacturing. The biggest take away for me was a deeper appreciation of not just the tools but the philosophy. The way the trip was organised and flowed was amazing. Thanks to Paul and David from Shinka…
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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.