PMFORUM Breaking News

Reported by PMForum from Tokyo

Mr. Jitsuro Terashima, one of Japans’ top global strategists, delivered an interesting and important keynote speech at the International Project & Program Management Symposium Tokyo 2008 in Tokyo, Japan on Monday, March 10. The conference was held at Tower Hall, Funabori in Tokyo. The sponsor of the two-day project management symposium was the Project Management Association of Japan (PMAJ).

Mr. Terashima (pictured) presented a review of recent economic trends affecting Japan and the Sea of Japan sphere of influence, in his presentation entitled “A Strategic View of Project Management.” Some of the main points of his presentation included the following:

• The human face of project management is very important – knowing how to inspire people is key to success, as evidenced by Buddhist priests in historic Japan who were also engineers and project managers.


• Strategic project management must be based on an understanding of the times we live in, the current situation and problems facing Japan.


• Trade and economic relationships are changing rapidly for Japan. For example, the USA has been Japan’s #1 trading partner for the last 50 years, but in 2007, Japan’s trade with China overtook that with the USA.


• Japanese container ports have been dropping in world ranks lately, with none in the top 20 at all now. Tokyo’s port has dropped from 17th to 23rd last year. Nine out of the top 10 are in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.


• Japanese visits to the USA have been dropping, and so have American visitors to Japan. Meanwhile, interaction with China has increased so that more Chinese now come to Japan than from any other country.


• Russian trade with Japan and Russian visitors have increased dramatically in the last two years, and Russian influence in the Sea of Japan economic sphere is growing rapidly.


• Japan is a net creditor; the country needs to pay more attention on how its resources are invested more efficiently and effectively.


• By 2009, the number of short distance flights around and from Japan will reach much higher levels; there is a need to address this trend with new aircraft. Several Japanese auto makers are now taking steps to enter this industry, the manufacturing of new short haul passenger aircraft.

Mr. Jitsuro Terashima, Strategist, is Managing Director of Mitsui & Company, and CEO and President of the Mitsui Global Strategic Studies Institute in Tokyo, Japan. He also serves as Chairman of The Japan Research Institute and Professor at Waseda University's Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies.

Mr. Terashima obtained a master’s degree in political science at Waseda University, Tokyo and joined Mitsui & Company, Japan’s leading trading company, in 1973. He has extensive experience in the company’s global operations, and global strategic studies for the company and Japan in general. He was in the United States for 16 years; following a stint at the Brookings Institution, he was Head of Strategic Planning at Mitsui’s New York Office and General Manager of their Washington DC Office. Mr. Terashima has been in his current position at Mitsui since 1999.

The “International Project & Program Management Symposium Tokyo 2008 – “In pursuit of organizational project management value,” was held in Tokyo, Japan during 10-11 March 2008. The symposium was sponsored by the Project Management Association of Japan. The Program Director and Chairman for the IP&PMS Tokyo 2008 was Dr. Hiroshi Tanaka, president of PMAJ. Mr. Tetsuhiro Yamane, PMP, was Project Manager.

The national Project Management Association of Japan (PMAJ) was born in 2005 thorough the integration of the Japan Project Management Forum (JPMF – pioneer of Japan’s project management society) and Project Management Professionals Certification Center (PMCC). PMAJ has 3,000 individual and 110 corporate members from all branches of the Japanese industry and governmental agencies. PMAJ offers its own standard “The Guidebook of Project and Program Management for Enterprise Innovation – P2M” and P2M based certification system. For more information, visit http://www.pmaj.or.jp/.