Kirari Co., Ltd. works to connect overseas engineers from universities in countries like the Philippines with small and medium manufacturing companies (SMMCs) in Japan to address staffing needs. They recruit highly skilled engineers aged 20-29 who are interested in Japan's manufacturing industry and provide training and support to help the engineers and SMMCs integrate successfully. This includes language training, cultural education, and workplace skills development. They focus on recruiting from the Philippines due to factors like the engineers' technical skills, English ability, and positive view of Japan, along with the Philippines' young workforce and unemployment challenges. The goal is to strengthen both the engineers and SMMCs through diversity and help the companies expand globally.

1. Challenge of KIRARI, learning and expanding business by hiring Overseas Engineers,
matching with SMMC(: Small & Medium Manufacturing Companies)
Yoshiki Horiyasu, Kirari Co., Ltd.
Be a bridge between Overseas Engineers and SMMC (: Small & Medium Manufacturing
Companies) in Japan
We, Kirari Co., Ltd., was chosen as one of the companies by METI (:Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry) as “Networking business betweenYouth and Small & Medium
Enterprises” in 2008, proceeding Monozukuri manpower business to solve the recruitment
problem such as miss-matching SMMC and the youth. Aside from it, Ninomiya
Manufacturing Corporation, whom I am Deputy Manager, founded in 1947, Precision Metal
Manufacturing Company, located at Minano, Chichibu, Saitama-prefecture, was a pioneer to
establish for hiring the high skilled engineer abroad and have experienced from recruitment
to training so far. These 2 (two) companies tackled to address the up-to-date demand of
SMMC as to recruit the overseas engineers to comply with their needs and edify them for
supporting our customers.
The purpose of this business is to connect between the graduates’ (20～29 years old)
overseas Engineers who are interested in Japan’s Monozukuri and the companies who intend
to hire young engineers to become future core employees, maintaining and increasing the
strong Monozukuri Genba as well as attracting the SMMC in Japan. In addition to that, our
goal is that we can establish a network with overseas Universities/Colleges to get the know-
how of recruitment abroad.
In Ninomiya Manufacturing Corporation, experienced manufacturing workers and
genba-oriented company supporters gather and discuss how to solve the problems about
SMMC to improve performance and that we, as our mission, are to improve performance and
provide the know-how with SMMC.
Procedure of recruitment and its supporting flow
Step 1. Recruitment
We’ll meet to HR (: Human Resources) in charge of a company, hearing what they
need in their organization, understanding their current situations and problems, in order for

2. us to have a common vision of the company in the future. We’ll discuss on the personality,
characteristics, job descriptions, experiences, nationality, class of visa and Japanese
communication level in job to optimize the best route of hiring. (Figure 1.)
Figure 1.
Find great talent (Locate)
Recruitment Strategy
 Purpose of hiring/define responsibility/training plan (visioning the organization after 3
to 10 years)
 Check environment (workplace, residence)
Recruitment
 Requirements Preparation
 Offering to the Universities/Colleges
 Ask candidates for local networks
Interview/Hiring
 Screening of the documents
 Professors’ recommendation and his/her background verification
 Examination
 Interview over Skype/on-site interview (upon job fair)
(Figure 2)
Arrangement of Invitation
 Preparation of documents for COE (: Certificate of Eligibility)
 Arrangement of POEA (: Philippine Overseas Employment Administration)
 Participate in Seminar for Overseas Employment
 Medical Checkup
Training for Language and Culture
 (Before coming to Japan) Basic Japanese lesson
 (After arrival to Japan) Intermediate Japanese lesson, Study of culture, living and
emergency response in Japan
Workplace Routine Training
 Basic engineering and on-site experiences by Training Instructor

3.  Workplace rules
 Communication with Japanese employees
 Career Development Training
Specialist for Humanities/International Services for regular engineer and Cultural
Activities for internship students of technical university/college are the two categories of COE
(: Certificate of Eligibility), we will introduce the best HR company to comply with the
company needs.
Next is to prepare Application Guidelines. It is important to help the applicants
understand the guidelines easily since the situation of employment is different abroad, which
is to express that the applicants shall learn the way of working in Japan. On-site job fair may
be of good help recruit the engineers. In the interview, we have to be aware of difference of
rules for interviewing and regulations, and then background verifications. We should not lean
on his/her Japanese language skills only. Of course, it is inevitable to say that Japanese
language is a must, though, the key point is to decide what we need and what he/she is. It
depends on his/her Japanese language level, though, we can arrange to provide him/her with
Japanese language program before entering to Japan if we have prepared a strategic plan of
hiring.
Step 2. Raise
If we hire a Philippine Engineer for the first time, it takes about six (6) months from
hiring-decision to his/her reporting to the company in Japan. For us to hire them, we will have
to obtain COE (: Certificate of Eligibility). Then Visa will be issued to him/her by Embassy
of Japan in the Philippines. Upon entering to Japan, he/she can receive Residence Card at the
immigration counter. We have to remind that, after granting the Visa, the Engineer has to get
the permission from POEA (: Philippine Overseas Employment Administration).
Before entering to Japan, we usually provide the Engineer with Basic Japanese
language program conducted by a Japanese teacher who knows about our HR (: Human
Resource) development policy residing in the Philippines, that aims to be in the basic level of
understanding Japanese language. Besides, they can be aware of differences in working and
culture of business in Japan over Skype and e-mails. (Figure 2)
After entering to Japan, we conduct 2-weeks intensive training, not only Japanese
language but also Daily life education, that is underpinned by Professor Yoshida, Faculty of

4. Science and Engineering of Toyo University, expertise with the Engineering education in
Japan and abroad, producing the Engineer who can play an active role for long term, based on
such six (6) elements as Spirit, Skill, Body, Cooperation, Knowledge, and Think with fine and
kid-glove approach, which is our policy of HR training:
Spirit – Monozukuri philosophy, Japan culture, and discipline
Skill – Know-how of learning and inherit of technology and expertness, Japanese language
ability in workplace
Body – Action continuity, Concentration and Self-management
Cooperation – Teamwork, Communication ability
Knowledge – Science and Engineering, IT, Safety
Think – Problem-awareness, Planning, Creativity
(Figure 3)
Employed worker support
 Attitude in workplace/human relationship
 Engineering enhancement (Guide the way of improvement based on his/herpersonality)
 Career counseling
 Life (Apply for network of native supporters of doctor, church member
Company support
 Create a framework for incoming foreign staff member
 Manner of utilization of foreign staff members such as communication method
 Sustain and strengthen foreign staff members
 Corporate transformation with foreign staff members such as productivity growth,
organization reform, overseas business expansion
Step 3. Strengthening (Growth & Improvement)
First, to make the foreign staff member gain foundation is the relationship. Even if
they are high skilled and able to speak Japanese fluently, it is hard for them to focus at the
workplace without the relationship. Such training as greetings, the attitude to others, and the
way of communication to Japanese staff members is very important, while Japanese staff
members shall also arrange the work environment and support. Let’s say, what if we would
work abroad? We must imagine what and how they worry about. For them to feel comfortable
to stay in Japan, such support is needed as physical, emotional, and spiritual. And 3rd
party’s
consultation is also necessary. And, for strengthening non-Japanese staff, we find out each
personnel’s strong and weak characteristics as to arrange best workplace to maximize the good

5. traits. The Management arrange the workplace environment that their superior compliment
them. If the company perceive that the foreign staff members are active in their workplaces
then the organizational power is enhanced, such company’s foreigners will be strengthened
easily. Japanese superior and colleagues enable also to have the opportunity to improve
themselves because of the motivated and smart foreigners, whom Japanese superior and
colleagues are eager to teach them.
Why is the human resource from the Philippines?
Strong factors are:
① Significance of basic knowledge of Science and Engineering, Logical Thinking,
Presentation skills, IT skills such as Microsoft Office/Auto-CAD/various program
languages, etc. For them to be called “Engineer”, they must get a national license after
graduating the course of Science and Engineering of University/College in the Philippines.
② We can hire young 20’s up to late 20’s Filipino Engineers. Average age of the people of the
Philippines is 24 years old. The demographic composition of the Philippines is a clear
pyramid shape, having a large number of infants and children with less population of the
elderlies, that is increasing the workforce. Inflow of FDI (: Foreign Direct Investment) to
the manufacturing industry in the Philippines is smallerthan any otherneighbor countries,
inducing the high unemployment due to insufficient job creations. Therefore, there is an
opportunity for the company of Japan to hire them.
③ Pro-Japanese, happy people, and speak English fluently. There are many young people
who have good impression of Japan because of the anime. Cheerful personality makes our
company positive note. We can take advantage of their ability to make a deal with foreign
companies and our business expansion abroad. Some Japanese companies worry about
their change career after being hired, what we should do is to not hire those who are
students in Japan or resides Japan but recruit in the Philippines then put themselves in
long-term’s working in Japan as to gain both their willingness of contribution and loyalty
to our company, that results in high retention rate. (Figure 4)
Figure 4
Example of success root of anchorage
Phase 1. Take root in company
 Pool 20 years old onwards young skilled human resources
 Dynamization in-company (Cheerful atmosphere, opportunity driven as leadership,

6. open-heart for foreign staff members)
Phase 2. Strengthening the Engineers
 Organizational changes (Engineers’ vital role, enhancing new ideas and awareness of
productivity)
 Productivity enhancement (Standardizing process, take advantage of IT skills, logical
thinking)
 Advancement of Management ability for leaders (Growth opportunities)
Phase 3. Corporate transformation
 Business expansion (Strengthen business abroad, overseas expansion and local
networking)
 Management evolution (Diversity management, organizational change)
Suitable HR (: Human Resources) for each company
 There are 6 partnership with universities/colleges, which are each 3 from Luzon and
Cebu (Visayas). In the future, there will be another 5 schools from Mindanao and in
Luzon. Also, we will have the partnership in Vietnam in 2020. Then, to build a network
of those companies who hired non-Japanese, wherein we will share case examples of
sustainment and strengthening of foreign staff members, hiring young Japanese staff
members, for development of corporate transformation. Again, the ultimate goal of this
business is to let each manufacturing company understand the know-how of hiring
foreigners. We would like to encourage many SMMC to hire foreigners by the best
matching and grow together, raising the SMMC who underpin the Monozukuri in Japan.
Kindly contact us as Ninomiya Manufacturing Corporation if you are interested in this
business.
This article is translated from Japanese magazine “Press gijutsu” issued on December 2019. For this
article, you may contact me at hikomatsumura@gmail.com, Harry Consulting Services Japan
http://hcs-asia.com/