JITCO

JITCO Convention: Promotion of Human Resources Development, Exchanges, and Friendships

On October 3, 2008, JITCO hosted a convention subtitled "Promotion of Human Resources Development, Exchanges, and Friendships" at the Keidanren Hall in Tokyo with attendance of approximately 380 people.

The Executive Vice President of JITCO briefed on the Industrial Training and Technical Internship Program. He referred to the management in sending countries, including preventive measures against malpractices, which have been notified through annual meetings with the sending authority. Mentioning the current trend where a dominant number of trainees come from China, he expected to welcome trainees from various countries to provide the opportunity for transferring skills and knowledge.


He also mentioned the new development in an attempt to improve the program operations, such as the revised guideline of Ministry of Justice, more frequent instructive visits to training sites, and the counseling hotline on Saturdays for trainees and interns.

Following the briefing from JITCO, Mr. Peter Frankl made a speech titled "Japanese: a beautiful and interesting language". Mr. Peter Frankl is a Hungarian mathematician who is also known as a street performer and a popular TV personality. Drawing upon his experiences traveling across the world and acquiring 12 different languages, Mr. Frankl spoke about the difficulties, interesting aspects, and beauty of the Japanese language.

The audience was thoroughly entertained by Mr. Frankl's versatility. He performed juggling at the beginning and the end of his speech, and also conversed in Chinese with trainees in the middle of his speech by interviewing the attendees.

Mr. Frankl said that the advanced quality control regimen in Japan is similar to mathematics, comparing mathematicians to Japanese people for their accuracy and extreme preciseness in allowing no assumptions or guesses. He also shared his view that the Japanese advancement of technology has been supported by the education system, which has emphasized art and craftsmanship since the beginning of the Meiji period, something that has succeeded in developing Japanese people's skills in intricate hand work. He encouraged trainees to learn as much as they could from technology, and study Japanese seriously because these skills would give them advantages in their home countries.

After intermission, award ceremonies were held for both the Outstanding Accepting Organizations and the Winners of the 16th Annual Japanese Essay Contest.

Five accepting organizations and a company won this year's awards which commend successful organizations and companies for smooth and continuous operation that follows the aim and purpose of the training program. JITCO is intended to encourage these organizations and companies to continue their efforts, and to show the path to success to other organizations and companies.

☆The Winners of Outstanding Accepting Organizations Awards (In order of the Japanese alphabet)

Commercial At the award ceremony, Mr. Yoshikazu Nakajima from the Sunrise Cooperative and Mr. Kazumasa Watanabe, the president of Vuteq Corporation, spoke on behalf of the winning organizations' and company's efforts with accepting trainees. The 16^th Annual Japanese Essay Contest Award Ceremony then commenced. Please follow the link for more information.

In the reception following the ceremony, attendees enjoyed talking with one another in a friendly atmosphere, and some of the winners of the essay contest were interviewed.