All posts by Thomas Greve

City Life, Tama City

Tama City, Tokyo

The class of 2007 is back in the Kanto area after more than 2 months of being on the road in western and central Japan! Tama city, Tokyo is a bedroom suburb of the metropolis, located some 30 minutes from Shinjuku, one of the terminal stations in Tokyo.

Progressive baby boomers reside in Tama and have a long history of hosting various cultural activities with citizens’ initiatives. Also, Tama is unique in that it is led by only one of four female mayors in all of Japan.

A metropolitan Tokyo tour was organized by the Chuo university students on September 25th. Split into 5 theme groups, we visited different districts in central Tokyo such as Asakusa, Shibuya and Akihabara.

The group which visited Akihabara had a unique experience in the former electronics quarter turned into an anime / manga town. The participants explored the small shops selling anime character goods and service outlets that they would never find in their native country, while others who went to the medium-sized shopping street of Shimokitazawa found similarities to the one they’re used to seeing.

By traveling in small groups consisting of college students, members of the local organizing committee and WCI students, we could all share viewpoints of students from around the city, native Tokyo residents, and outsiders.

On September 26th, the class had the opportunity to visit 2 of the local elementary schools. One of them, Higashi Ochiai Elementary school, was established 8 years ago as a result of a merger of 2 schools. To establish closer relationships with local residents as well as visitors, schools in Tama city are surprisingly open-armed. At the school where 380 children are currently studying, the class introduced their native culture and they performed dances and songs to make a connection with the children.

City Life, Toyota City

Toyota City, Aichi

As the name of the city suggests, Toyota City thrives on the automobile industry. In recent years, the central-Japan area has enjoyed the fastest growing economy within the country thanks to companies like Toyota Motor Corporation. Due to the high number of foreign residents in the region, Toyota city actively supports international NGOs.

On Sep.19th, part of the class visited the OISCA Training Center. At this multinational NGO, people from developing nations are able to take lessons in sustainable development as well as acquire skills in modern agricultural methods. WCI participants joined the trainees to help harvest rice at the paddy for a day.

“The most important lesson I leaned today through the harvest work, is that WE SHOULD CHERISH OUR FOOD! I really understand how difficult farming work is. It’s necessary to develop our techniques. Helping and training those people from developing regions and teaching them organic farming is very good”
-Lisa Wang, (China)

Another part of our class had the chance to have a tour in one of the Toyota plants to see their eco-friendly operations and later take part in the role-playing simulation facilitated by Toyota’s education personnel to experience how the well-known TPS (Toyota Production System) functions.

On Sep. 20th, the entire class had the opportunity to visit another Toyota plant as well as their exhibition center, and later had the privilege to have a lunch and a Q&A session with the PR director of the corporation to gain a better understanding of the secrets to their international success.

“Since childhood, I’ve been interested in everything with wheels and engines. I studied Industrial Engineering and Management with specialization in logistics at my university. I enjoyed the workshop a lot. This way you can experience their daily production method. I also saw the theory, I learned, I applied.”
-Bjorn Jurcka, (Netherlands)

City Life, Suita City

Suita City, Osaka

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On Sep. 10 and 11, the class split into groups to visit several local companies. You could feel the spirit of “Think Globally, Act Locally” in Suita. Located in one of the biggest commercial areas in Japan, Suita city hosts a number of corporations whose products are sold internationally.

One group visited Taiko Pharmaceuticals, known nationally for their stomach medicine “Seirogan”, and had the opportunity to have lunch with the president of the company. We were surprised to learn that it is only recently that they have found out the scientific explanation to the effectiveness of the herbal medication, although Seirogan has been used in Japan for more than a century. The company considers their mission is to bring health to people all over the world and is expanding sales internationally.

Each group was able to learn more about company activities for Corporate Social Responsibility. In Yodogawa Hu-tech, a manufacturer of florescent products, the health of employees are considered most seriously. They are strongly encouraged to quit smoking – and when they succeed, they receive bonus money from the company! They told us that they are often thanked by employees’ families for making their family members healthier.

Since the first mass- developed residential district is located in Suita, many local companies understand the connectivity to the local residents. For example, a steel production company we visited offers local residents the free use of their tennis courts as well as volley ball field, and a house-cleaning company organizes park beautification activities.