Participants of Qatar Leadership Centre’s (QLC) Rising Leaders Programme recently returned from an exclusive Learning Journey to Tokyo, Japan.
There, the participants exchanged lessons on innovation and knowledge creation during a series of interactive visits to some of Japan’s most successful multinational companies and well-known educational institutions.
The knowledge exchange will help the Rising Leaders enhance their contribution to Qatar’s development goals, QLC has said in a statement.
“This Learning Journey was an exceptional opportunity for the Rising Leaders to hone their management skills and exchange expertise with Japan’s top business leaders,” said Dr Abdulla bin Ali al-Thani, managing director and member of the Board of Directors of QLC. “Rising Leaders participants will apply what they learned to encourage innovation, knowledge creation and sustainable growth in their respective organisations.”
Rising Leaders first visited Itochu Corporation, a global trading conglomerate, at its headquarters in Tokyo. There, they learned about Japan’s post-World War II economic growth and shared insights on managing innovative teams and organisations. At Itochu, participants were greeted by Hisato Okubo, head of the Energy Department at Itochu Corporation.
They received a briefing on the country’s development from Dr Florian Kohlbacher, North Asia director of the Economist Corporate Network, part of the British company known for publishing The Economist magazine. 
The Learning Journey also included a trip to Hitosubashi ICS, a graduate school of international corporate strategy, where participants shared a presentation about Qatar’s past, present and future to the school’s MBA students. With Professor Kazuo Ichijo, dean and professor at Hitotsubashi ICS, the participants studied Toyota Motor Corporation as a case study of Japanese corporate success.
The Rising Leaders then visited the Tsutsumi Toyota plant in Aichi Prefecture, learning about the company’s quality control processes. After the visit to Toyota, the group was received by NEC Corporation, one of Japan’s most prominent information technology multinationals. There, the Rising Leaders took part in a workshop with NEC executives, learning about how the company is considering global trends to inform the development of new, innovative technologies.
Lastly, the participants discussed management best practice with Tomoya Nakamura, dean of Globis University’s Graduate School of Management, the largest business school in Japan.
The Rising Leaders also explored Tokyo’s rich cultural offerings outside of the interactive sessions. These included a river cruise along the Sumida, Tokyo’s famous waterway, and touring historic sites.