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 Second Issue
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Rescue Techniques Course (Implementation Report)
■Instructors窶・Training Course — In Tokyo
Mr. Yutthana窶冱 current responsibility is to teach disaster prevention measures and rescue techniques to people in various areas. These days, there are many large-scale disasters, and focus has been placed on rescue techniques. Six firefighters from Bangkok participated at the instructor training course held in Tokyo last November. After completing the training course, Mr. Yutthana gave us his strong resolution to 窶徃o back to Thailand and spread the Japanese rescue techniques I learned during this training course to various areas.窶・br /> ■Rescue Technique Course — In Bangkok
At the rescue techniques course held in Bangkok from January 29 for 16 days at the Thai Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Academy, Mr. Yutthana served as an instructor. For this training course, five members of the Tokyo Fire Department, four members of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Academy who participated in the Tokyo training course and one firefighter from the Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department served as instructors to teach rescue techniques to 60 trainees.The training plan was formulated after thorough discussion between the Thai instructors and the instructors from Tokyo. Additionally, after each day of the course, meetings were held to discuss adjustments to the training content for the next day taking into consideration the proficiency of the trainees. Mr. Yutthana was involved from the planning stage to the actual instruction.
The Asian fashion market caters to the needs of some three billion people, and holds the promise of great expansion in the future. Discovery of new designers is one of the important themes of the industrial promotion measures implemented by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG), and serves to further improve the image of Tokyo and enhance business opportunities.
The New Designer Fashion Grand Prix is one of the largest fashion contests in the world and provides a venue to new Asian designers who still have not established their brands. Some 13,000 applications for participation were received for the 2008 edition of the contest. The 30 designers who passed the pre-selection were enrolled in a three-year education program and will receive diverse business support, such as opportunities to participate in seminars organized by the TMG and collaborate with companies, and support to allow them to exhibit in shows and trade fairs. We visited the show by the award-winning designers, and held an interview with Nami Myung, one of the winners of the Workmanship Prize for 2008. Interview Nami Myung, Designer from Seoul
—Can you please introduce your brand and design?
I create clothes with attention to the shape of the woman窶冱 body, to make it look beautiful when a woman is moving, sitting and standing up. I am always seeking for new forms. I am a big fan of the Belgian surrealist artist Rene Magritte, and my prize-winning design was inspired by Magritte窶冱 work 窶廴an in the Wall.窶・br />
—What do you think of your participation in the show?
I was given the rare opportunity to show my works to buyers and select shops agents. They liked my knit works more than I had expected and encouraged me to show them more works, and continue creating them. So I feel I made a hit.
This interview convinced us that the day is not too far away when young Asian designers whose careers were launched at this contest will take over the fashion world.
Visit the URL below to see the award-winning work of Nami Myung. http://www.fashion-gp.com/uk/2008/final-selection/index.html A fashion show of designers representing nine major cities across Asia was held parallel to the event.
 The Wongpanit junk store 縲Approximately 10% of the population of Thailand lives in Bangkok, and the capital city accounts for 24% of the waste produced in the country. Under the leadership of M.R.Sukhumbhand Paribatra, the new Governor who assumed his post in January 2009, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has been engaged in waste reduction measures with the objective of improving the efficiency of waste collection and reducing the volume of waste. 縲One of the characteristics of waste in Bangkok is that approximately 50% of it is organic waste, mainly food waste, which is difficult to separate and recycle. 縲Almost all organic waste winds up in landfills, but the landfill space is not infinite, and in recent years Bangkok has been advancing initiatives to convert waste into compost. In this process, garbage is converted into such things as fertilizer ,using high-speed composting equipment. Utilization of compost is gradually taking roots among households, but the interest of Bangkok窶冱 residents in appropriate waste disposal remains relatively low, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is faced with the big challenge of improving the recycling awareness of the local community. 縲Against this backdrop, a pilot project for the promotion of composting is under way in 12 communities in Bangkok. Under this project, all organic waste collected in a village is separated and converted into fertilizers, which are then used in agriculture and other purposes within the community. In other words, the initiative aims to create a full-recycling scheme within each community. 縲In some cases, the methane gas released in the process of converting organic waste to compost is used to generate electricity and thermal energy, which are in turn utilized for cooking purposes within schools. In this way, recycling is incorporated into school education. 縲This kind of initiative is representative of the efforts of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to promote recycling with the participation of city residents. 縲An example of a private-sector initiative is the revolutionary method introduced by Thailand窶冱 largest recycling company, Wongpanit. It was established in 1974 as an individual waste collector. Nowadays Wongpanit is a franchise with more than 300 junk stores all over Thailand that collects recyclable waste from the residents and divides it by type. The company provides information about recyclable items and discloses the fluctuating purchase prices of recyclable waste at its stores and on its website.
縲Nowadays Wongpanit is a model company that is drawing attention from other Southeast Asian countries. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is also interested in Wongpanit窶冱 activities, and is dispatching administration officials to receive training at the company. Furthermore, the city is exploring schemes to increase the number of junk stores like those of Wongpanit and to enable local recycling. 縲
Tokyo Metropolitan University is currently accepting approximately 200 international students, the majority from Asian countries, and is actively cultivating personnel who will contribute to the development of Asia.
We will turn the spotlight on Wu Bin, a second-year student from China in the Master窶冱 program of the Department of Information and Communications Systems Engineering, at the Graduate School of System Design. Mr. Wu has been a student of Tokyo Metropolitan University (TMU) since his first year in the undergraduate program. In April of this year, he will become an employee of the Japanese company. Interview Mr. Wu Bin (Graduate School of System Design)
—You found a job at a Japanese company. What was job hunting like?
Ever since I came to Japan, my goal was to find a job here, so I feel like I have achieved my original intentions. I selected and visited about eight companies where I could apply my research. These were not only large companies but also small and medium enterprises. When the company of my first choice offered me a job, I was extremely happy. I had some difficulties in filling out the entry sheets and communicating at the interview, but I practiced the interview many times and also took advantage of the services provided by the section of employment support at the University. The fact that I am an international student was not important for companies. They were only interested in whether I would be a useful resource. In that sense, I did not feel that my being an international student was an obstacle in the job hunting process. —What is your goal for the future?
I landed a job in the company of my first choice, so going forward I intend to work hard and upgrade my skills. I feel that this is the path that I chose when I decided to come to study in Japan. My parents understand and accept my choice. That is why for the time being I have no plans to return to China. —Do you have any messages for other exchange students?
First, we sat down with Executive Director, Mr. Kiyotsugu Nakata, in the reception room. Once we were shown into the reception room, the first thing we noticed was the myriad of patents on the walls. 窶弋he patents are the results of making products based on our customers窶・demands through sales information and connecting them with design ideas. They窶决e the fruit of the creative monozukuri (manufacturing) activities that each and every one of our employees engages in.窶・br /> Isn窶冲 it difficult to acquire all of these techniques? 窶廬t takes a minimum of 3-4 years to master the basic lathe skills. There窶冱 just so much that you窶决e still learning new things even after 15 years.窶・So it takes a lot of work to become established as an engineer. 縲 窶廢ven so, these days many young women are joining the company. Once they窶况e learned the skills, this is the type of job they can return to after marrying or giving birth if they want to.
窶廾ne of the two Chinese employees had been working for more than 10 years already and is now manager of the design section. The other quit a job as a school teacher and joined us. Both of them are extremely reliable people. There is absolutely no discrimination between Japanese and foreign employees. The payment structure is the same for both.窶・Mr. Nakata added. There is a continuous stream of visitors from abroad. People from all over the world come to Nambu to learn its technologies. Some go back to their countries buying and carrying home more than 50 kg worth of Nambu products. The next issue will report on how Nambu, a company with technologies that are attracting the attention of the world, established a factory in Thailand and despite being bewildered by the difference in temperament from the Japanese, the factory came to be known as the 窶徂onors student of Nambu.窶・ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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