Dear EIJS friends,

We would like to invite you to the EIJS Academy seminar to be held on July 12.
It is our great pleasure to invite Mr. Saburo Kobayashi who will give a talk on the topic "HONDA DNA: Culture of Challenge, Creativity & Innovation～Invitation to Essential Deliveration" Please find as below the details of the seminar. We look forward to receiving your active sign up at eijsjap[at]gmail.com for the attention of Miki Futagawa (Ms.) by Friday, July 6.

Sincerely yours,
Miki Futagawa
EIJS Tokyo Office

European Institute of Japanese Studies
Academy Seminars presents:

HONDA DNA:
Culture of Challenge, Creativity & Innovation

Saburo "Sam" Kobayashi,
Visiting Professor, Chuo University
Lecturer, Hitotsubashi University and Waseda University

Thursday, July 12, 2012
The Alfred Nobel Auditorium,
Embassy of Sweden

Overview:
One of the greatest challenges facing Japanese businesses is how to promote creativity and innovation. While many observers are skeptical of whether Japanese firms are up to the task, there are plenty of examples of individual innovators and entrepreneurs who have made a difference in Japanese companies. Perhaps no one is better positioned to talk about this than Saburo "Sam" Kobayashi, former General Manager at Honda Motor Company. For 16 of his 34-year tenure at Honda, Mr. Kobayashi conducted research on the airbag. Except for the founder, Mr. Soichiro Honda and a few executives, all of Kobayashi's associates were against the airbag, hence the research was very difficult to undertake and sustain. Despite this opposition, Honda subsequently became the first Japanese auto-manufacturer to place the airbag on the market. In his presentation, Mr. Kobayashi will talk about his direct experience with long-term research on the airbag at Honda Motor Company, but also more generally about the culture of challenge, creativity and innovation that infuses one of Japan's most admired companies.

About the speaker:
Mr. Kobayashi was a General Manager in the Corporate Planning Division at Honda Motor Company until 2005. He also served as Vice President and Executive Chief Engineer at Honda R&D America for almost eight years. Mr. Kobayashi conducts research leads training programs, and gives lectures on the management of creativity and innovation, the education of high-quality employees, and the strategic planning of future value creation through Y-gaya (complete essential discussion) at Hitotsubashi and other leading universities in Japan. Saburo Kobayashi holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from Waseda University.


Date: Thursday, July 12, 2012

Time: 6.30 p.m. – 7.00 p.m. Drink & Snack (served before lecture)
7.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. Lecture and Discussion

Place: Alfred Nobel Auditorium, Embassy of Sweden
10-3-400 Roppongi 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032
Five-minute walk from Tokyo Metro Nanboku Line Roppongi 1-chome Station
Five-minute walk from Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line Kamiya-cho Station

Fee: JPY3,000 per person, payable at the door
Free for those who are from sponsoring companies (*)
Free for students, please bring your student ID

Language: English

(*) EIJS Academy 2011-2012 Sponsoring companies
Gadelius Holding Ltd., Ericsson Japan K.K., Nihon Tetra Pak K.K., Sandvik K.K.,
Höganäs Japan K.K. and in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden

Please sign up by July 6 (Fri.) via e-mail to eijsjap[at]gmail.com or fax to (03-5562-9090) for the attention of Ms. Futagawa (EIJS Tokyo Office).

--
Miki Futagawa
European Institute of Japanese Studies
Tokyo Office
c/o Embassy of Sweden
1-10-3-400, Roppongi
Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032
Tel: +81(0)3 5562 5032
Fax: +81(0)3 5562 9090
Email: eijsjap[at]gmail.com