Japan Study Mission

I recently undertook a study mission to Japan. A tour not focussed on design or aesthetics, but rather to learn more about the Japanese manufacturing culture, efficient way of living and their obsession with continuous improvement. 

At the beginning of 2024, I read a book by American businessman and author Paul Akers, Two Second Lean. This book tells the story of how he turned his business into a hugely successful empire that exports products all around the world. He did this by learning and implementing the Toyota Production System, widely referred to TPS but, more importantly, by studying the Japanese disposition and bringing what he learned from that culture back to his business. 

This book resonated deeply with me as he teaches that principles such as humility, dignity and respect should be used to build a vibrant culture of curious and confident minds, an army of problem solvers. Just as in Japan, there are no productivity hacks, self-help seminars or motivational speakers that hold the secret to the success of your business; it lies deeply rooted in the people and the culture of the organisation. This excited me because it meant that if I, as the leader, have the agency to influence and build the culture within Houtlander, I could ensure that productivity and quality are not driven by metrics and KPI’s, but from a place of pride, respect, and desire for continuous improvement. 

I was fortunate enough to meet Paul at a presentation he gave when he passed through South Africa on his way to a family holiday in Namibia, and just under a year later, I joined him on a trip to Japan. 

We explored Tokyo for a few days, where all the subtleties of the Japanese people were pointed out to me. How respectful and friendly they are, how clean and quiet a city of 40 million can operate. How the history, traditions and beliefs of the Japanese made them the most conscientious culture in the world. 

The simple act of preparing and drinking tea is a ceremonious affair celebrating the beauty in the ordinary, this highly choreographed routine that makes the mundane task of drinking tea, a theatrical experience.

In the first few days, the focus was on quality; the Japanese are obsessed with quality. There is no such thing as “good enough”; if it's not great, it needs to be improved. It can be seen in everything from the food you eat at a roadside ramen bar or construction site we visited where a 30 floor building is wrapped up in covers with noise and dust meters set up next to the site to minimise discomfort to others. 

Time spent forest bathing in the imperial gardens and late-night meditation in the Onsen, a Japanese version of a communal bathhouse or spa, started to fine-tune my senses to the wonders of Japan.

A lecture by Mr Yabe, who oversaw a section of the Shinkansen High Speed Train, taught me that leaders must be warm-hearted, fair and strict. In Japan, you cannot be a leader if you are not interested in Kaizen – continuous improvement. Under Mr Yabe, the Shinkansen transported 300,000 people on 16 million trips between different stations per day, with an annual accumulated delay of less than 1 minute for all trains. How do they achieve this? By leaders being on the GEMBA (Japanese word for the place where the work happens) they are expected to work with ground staff to make daily improvements. 

We spent several days with Japanese sensei Mr. Amezawa, former vice president of Lexus and president of Toyota in the USA. He guided us through the Toyota museum, which is located in the original building where Kiichiro Toyoda founded the Toyota Motor Company, expanding on his father's successful automatic textile loom business. Mr. Amezawa also showed us a mill that was established over 100 years ago by Kiichiro Toyoda. Still operational, it provided insight into the period when industrial production began to scale up. For the Japanese, the kaizen mindset allowed them to pursue large-scale production while maintaining a focus on quality. The well-known philosophy called The Toyota Way has 2 fundamental pillars. Continuous improvement and Respect for people. For a manufacturing company that is over 100 years old, this way of thinking was ahead of its time, with leaders and managers rolling up their sleeves to work with the staff on the factory floor. Mr Amezawa shared that his first role as an engineering manager in Toyota was to spend weeks pouring molten steel into engine moulds so that he could appreciate the physicality of the work and develop compassion and empathy for the workers on the factory floor. 

We visited a school in the Mei province, and I got to sit in on a class of 8-year-olds being served lunch. Surprisingly, there were no teachers or canteen staff serving the children. Each class had four students dressed in aprons, gloves, and face masks, carefully dishing up lunch for me and all the other students. Green tea, rice, veggies and chicken were served, but no one touched their food. After everyone was presented with a plate of food, the teacher stood up for the first time. He asked if there were any students that are not going to eat anything on their plates. A number of students indicated yes and got up. The teacher then proceeded to ask each child what they were not going to eat and removed portions from their plate. Some children indicated that they would like to have some extra servings and got up to receive some more. After this routine was completed, a small prayer was said, thanking the farmer for growing the crops and the animal that gave its life so that they can be fed. After this, the chopsticks were let loose, and every grain of rice was consumed. Japan teaches not to waste, ever! 

After lunch and kicking a ball around with some kids the bell rang, every student in the school grabbed a broom, mop, cloth or dust pan, and like a little army of ants the whole school was quickly cleaned and washed in by the students themselves. 13 year olds was seen training the 6 year olds what the standards are, training in Japan is key to their success. They are trained not only how to be good learners, but also how to teach. 

Paul kept reiterating the words: 'training, training, training. Japan is all about training.' I realised that we are so used to assigning work or giving tasks to staff and then being totally surprised when the work is not done to our satisfaction. But did I give enough training and express with clarity what the expected standard is? Most likely, the answer is no.  We toured a waste disposal centre that looked like a combination of a library, hospital and computer lab. They process and incinerate all the waste produced, so it's crucial that the public do not discard any goods such as batteries and pressurised canisters in their waste. So they have made it part of their school syllabus for all 7-year-olds in Japan to visit their local waste disposal centre and receive training on responsible waste disposal practice.  

Factories have dojos where they train and fine-tune the intuition of production line workers. They do exercises like reaching into a bucket and pulling out exactly five bolts or nuts without looking, just by feeling alone.

The Japanese Post Office has millions of motorbikes and minivans on the road each day, and every single vehicle undergoes a routine inspection every morning before being loaded and driven off. Each motorbike has to drive through a mini course of obstacles as it leaves the yard, giving the driver a sense of the weight of the load it is carrying that day, and tuning in its senses before driving onto a public road.

Every moment in Japan felt like a masterclass in intentionality and pride of craft. Even the smallest details are treated with reverence—from the pristine arrangement of produce in family-run grocery stores to the perfectly synchronised bow of station attendants as a bullet train glides past. My daily observations steadily accumulated into an overwhelming sense of admiration: here, excellence is not reserved for grand gestures or special occasions, but is an expectation infused into all aspects of life.

It struck me that this relentless pursuit of betterment is not driven by external pressure, but by an intrinsic respect for one’s work, colleagues, and even strangers sharing the same street or train carriage. The Japanese concept of “monozukuri,” or making things with heart and skill, permeates not just manufacturing but also the service industry, hospitality, and public life. Every action, no matter how routine, is an opportunity to improve and to honour those who will be touched by the result.

This ethos of kaizen—continuous improvement—transcended the factories and boardrooms I visited. I found it in quiet alleyways, where residents swept the pavement before their homes each morning, and in the understated elegance of a simple meal, where every ingredient was given its due respect. The humility and collective spirit I encountered left a profound impression on me, challenging me to reconsider the foundation on which productivity can truly be built.

Returning home, I’m left with not only practical lessons about efficiency and management, but also a deeper belief in the transformative power of a good workplace culture. Culture at its core can be stripped down to nothing more than group habit, and each workplace has it, whether you actively engage in developing it or not. It’s in the day-to-day actions and nuance that make us feel like we are part of a community, it's this community that provides us with safety and security. I am more convinced than ever that the real secret to sustainable excellence lies not in the statistics or productivity apps, but in the culture of respect, dignity and a daily commitment to do things just a little bit better.