National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) conducted a three-day executive program for Undersecretary and Assistant Secretary level officials of the Philippine government from May 27 to 29, 2024. This training program, requested by the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), has been held since 2018. During the pandemic, it was conducted online twice, and this year it marks the sixth program overall.

?

The program is based on the Knowledge-Creation Theory and Leadership Theory of Professor Emeritus Ikujiro Nonaka of Hitotsubashi University. Participants received lectures and workshops on Phronetic Leadership theory in the Philippines before their visit to Japan, where they came to learn about practical examples and best practices directly from Japanese phronetic leaders.

?

This time, the focus was on enhancing productivity and promoting innovation in the service industry. The participants visited several organizations, including EARTHBRAIN Inc., which leads Komatsu's Smart Construction business, JR East Technical Heart TESSEI, Royal Holdings Co., Ltd., OryLab's Avatar Robot Cafe, and Eagle Bus Co., Ltd. They learned about organizational development, productivity, innovation efforts, and leadership through dialogue with leaders. In each session, many practical questions were asked by the participants, and lively Q&A sessions were held.

?

On the last day, under the facilitation of Prof. Hirofumi Takada (Program Director; Vice President and Director of the Executive Development Center for Global Leadership, GRIPS) and Prof. Masaei Matsunaga, the participants reviewed and discussed their takeaways from the program.