A Message from the President
Hideki FURUNO
President of KITA
The media is increasingly reporting about a slowdown of China's economic growth. This is likely to have no small impact on business trends in Japan as well. Economic expansion in other emerging nations is also slowing down so there are concerns of a ripple effect on other parts of Asia as well as Japan, and of course on the global economy.
In addition, the extremely complex international conflict in the Middle East was the cause of terrorist attacks in various regions. As a result, not only did financial uncertainty gradually start to increase in the latter half of 2015, it was also a year that saw an expansion of global social unrest, including security problems.
KITA, meanwhile, has been undergoing an overhaul of our set-up since 2011, based upon the following medium and long term perspectives.
KITA’s Medium and Long Term Policies
1. Accumulation of KITA’s assets
2. Investigation of “what is typical of KITA and “the advantages of being based in Kitakyushu
Based on these policies, we have promoted the following four guidelines since FY2015 and plan to get results from them during the two-year period ending in FY2016. In addition, we have almost completed our plan for FY2015, as outlined below.
1. Enhance and improve project capabilities with the aim of establishing the KITA brand (1) Training brand : Reliable implementation, from the grasp of local needs to follow-up on outcomes a) Comprehension of local needs b) Providing solutions and effective expertise, information and experience c) Building a win-win relationship between the countries participated in a training course and the companies collaborated in it d) Reliable follow-up on the outcomes of training courses ＞Via repeated discussion and research each time a training course is run, we are enriching content with regard to challenges a) to d) and gradually getting closer to attaining our objectives e) Greater utilization of networks with former participants overseas ＞We are expanding and consolidating our networks of former participants, and also making more active use of them. (2) Technical assistance brand : Global deployment of small and medium-sized Kitakyushu companies a) Support for small and medium-sized Kitakyushu companies starting up activities overseas (act as a coordinator) - Finding out the needs of overseas companies and matching them with what Kitakyushu companies can offer - Expanding markets by proactively launching activities overseas and establishing production systems such as joint ventures with overseas companies ＞In regard to the above, we are steadily developing overseas activities and so on, with a particular focus on Vietnam. b) Proactive collaboration to launch activities overseas with related organizations - Kitakyushu municipal government - Japan Association for Trade with Russia and NIS (ROTOBO) - Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) - Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME) - Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) ＞Collaborations with the Kitakyushu municipal government and JICA are particularly active, and we are focusing on those whilst also proceeding with other collaborations. c) Aggressively boosting our brand awareness overseas via activities such as overseas seminars and forums ＞We try hard to boost our visibility each time we carry out overseas activities, and awareness of KITA abroad is steadily growing. d) Greater utilization of networks with former participants overseas ＞We are expanding our networks with each project, with a particular focus on Vietnam.
2. Formulate and implement the KITA Master Plan (1) FY2015: Final draft of the KITA Master Plan (10-year plan) - Giving concrete form to the scheme to establish the KITA brand ＞We have finished drafting our master plan, and are now in the process of explaining it to the Kitakyushu municipal government and moving forward with KITA decision-making procedures. We have also started giving concrete form to the scheme to establish the KITA brand. (2) FY2015: Start to move forward with the KITA Master Plan - Starting work on the realization of the KITA brand ＞Implementation of the master plan is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of FY2015, and arrangements are in place to give tangible form to the KITA brand.
3. Further promote the streamlining of project management (1) Clarifying the respective roles of organizations and operations, and boosting coordination between organizations ・Streamlining administrative work and reducing costs ＞Preparations aimed at implementing concrete measures as of FY2016 are almost complete. (2) Promoting effective use of the IT infrastructure and improving its functions ＞This is a challenge we are tackling as a matter of routine and we are making daily progress.
4. Establish ourselves as a public interest incorporated foundation, and ensure transparency, fairness and disclosure (1) Scrupulously protecting information and providing full disclosure ＞This is already becoming habitual, but we are working to promote still greater thoroughness. (2) Preparation of the relevant documents for external audits by the Cabinet Office and Kitakyushu municipal government ＞Preparations for the audit are almost complete but are scheduled to continue on the assumption that some tasks still remain given that we have no experience of a Cabinet Office audit.
As indicated above, we are getting results almost exactly as scheduled.
FY2015 was a year in which we collaborated even more closely with partners such as the Kitakyushu municipal government and JICA Kyushu, and these strong cooperative relationships helped to intensify overseas activities.
We have been pushing forward for nearly five years now with the medium and long term policies I constantly advocate for KITA, and a two-year project was launched for FY2015-16 to establish the 'KITA brand' as one of the fruits of our medium and long term policies, a step that will give added clarity to their image.
This KITA brand is the core concept of the ten-year KITA Master Plan launched in FY2015. During the two-year period of FY2015-16 we will steadily implement the guidelines below, which have the establishment of the KITA brand as their central focus.
FY2016 Guidelines
1. Enhance and improve project capabilities with the aim of establishing the KITA brand (1) Training brand : Reliable implementation, from the grasp of local needs to follow-up on outcomes a) Comprehension of local needs b) Providing solutions and effective expertise, information and experience c) Building a win-win relationship between the countries participated in a training course and the companies collaborated in it d) Reliable follow-up on the outcomes of training courses e) Greater utilization of networks with former participants overseas (2) Technical assistance brand : Global deployment of small and medium-sized Kitakyushu companies a) Support for small and medium-sized Kitakyushu companies starting up activities overseas (act as a coordinator) - Finding out the needs of overseas companies and matching them with what Kitakyushu companies can offer - Expanding markets by proactively launching activities overseas and establishing production systems such as joint ventures with overseas companies b) Proactive collaboration to launch activities overseas with related organizations - Kitakyushu municipal government - Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) - Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) c) Aggressively boosting our brand awareness overseas via activities such as overseas seminars and forums d) Greater utilization of networks with former participants overseas
2. Formulate and implement the KITA Master Plan (1) Final draft of the KITA Master Plan (10-year plan) - Giving concrete form to the scheme to establish the KITA brand (2) Start to move forward with the KITA Master Plan - Starting work on the realization of the KITA brand
3. Further promote the streamlining of project management (1) Clarifying the respective roles of organizations and operations, and boosting coordination between organizations - Streamlining administrative work and reducing costs (2) Promoting effective use of the IT infrastructure and improving its functions
4. Establish ourselves as a public interest incorporated foundation, and ensure transparency, fairness and disclosure (1) Scrupulously protecting information and providing full disclosure (2) Preparation of the relevant documents for external audits by the Cabinet Office and Kitakyushu municipal government (3) Securing daily manners as a public interest incorporated foundation
As outlined above, during FY2016 I intend to shape the KITA brand which was given a clear outline in FY2015, and to build up the momentum to power forward with the KITA Master Plan during the next decade.