Kaizen: Understanding the Japanese business teaching

JAPANESE BUSINESS CONCEPTS OF THE WEEK

Kaizen
English: Continuous improvement, good change

Small yet consistent improvements are better than inaction (S. Rendor, 2001).

Kaizen is all about making incremental changes or ongoing sustainable improvements in all aspects of life, from personal development to business operations.

💡 How to apply Kaizen to your business:

Kaizen can be applied in business through a seven-step framework created by Harvard Business Review contributor and professor Richard Hackman.

Step 1: Identify opportunities for improvement
Step 2: Map the current process
Step 3: Develop the best solution for the improvement
Step 4: Implement it
Step 5: Monitor results
Step 6: Implement quality standards
Step 7: Assess results and next steps

According to the Kaizen framework, you’re far more likely to reach your goals when you break them down into small, achievable steps rather than trying to achieve major changes all at once.

Another way business leaders can use Kaizen is to celebrate successes along the way and use them as motivation to continue. By practicing Kaizen, you can develop a growth mindset and achieve continuous improvement in all areas of your life.

THE HEADLINES
In this week’s edition of U.S.-Japan Weekly:

💉 Takeda pioneers Japan’s entry into the U.S vaccine market

❄️ Mitsubishi Electric converts U.S. auto parts facility to cooling systems factory

🚚 Isuzu works with U.S. startup to build self-driving trucks

NEWS
Takeda pioneers Japan’s entry into the U.S vaccine market

🇯🇵 TOKYO, JAPAN — Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical is set to become the first Japanese company to enter the U.S. vaccine market as it files for approval from the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for its dengue fever vaccine.

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NEWS
Mitsubishi Electric converts U.S. auto parts facility to cooling systems factory

🇯🇵 TOKYO, JAPAN — The continued rise of artificial intelligence has ushered in an era of increased efficiency. Central to this rapid transformation are data centers whose processors and servers generate significant heat and require sophisticated cooling solutions to maintain operational stability. Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric is tapping into this growing demand by repurposing its U.S. auto parts factory to produce advanced air conditioning equipment for AI-driven data centers.

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NEWS
Isuzu works with U.S. startup to build self-driving trucks

🇺🇸 CALIFORNIA, USA — Leonardo da Vinci may not be the first name one associates with self-driving vehicles. But more than 500 years ago, the Italian polymath built self-propelled carts that he unveiled in front of his royal patrons and public audiences. That same innovative spirit lives on in Isuzu Motors, which has partnered with California-based research and product development company Applied Intuition to develop self-driving, fully automated trucks and have them on Japanese highways by 2027.

READ MORE

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Japan, with around 1,500 companies that have generated more than 150,000 jobs in the region, plays an integral part in the economy of the U.S. Midwest, widely known as the industrial heartland.

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