Pick Up

Dissemination of the attractiveness of the company’s products by spreading information to overseas through the intern

Komatsu Ltd.

企業Komatsu Ltd.

Osaka / Construction industry

インターンNida Khairunisa

Indonesia / Diponegoro University、Japanese Studies in Arts & Humanities Category

受入目的

Promotion of recognition of Japanese interior materials and opening of new markets overseas

Q.Why did your company decide to take on interns? What did you aim to achieve?
Our company is a specialist contractor mainly serving the Kansai area, with the wholesaling and installation of interior and sports materials as its two business pillars. In addition to sales of products and construction by order, which are our main lines of business, we strive to develop original products and establish unique sales channels. However, it is currently difficult to maintain stable growth in our industry because of soaring raw material and transport costs and a decrease in orders and workforce due to depopulation. As sales of interior and sports material and construction using them, which are the kinds of business we handle in the construction industry, depend greatly on financial conditions of consumers and the economy, further new efforts would be necessary for stable growth of the company. Therefore, we decided to participate in the internship project to reconfirm the future prospects of products we handle together with the intern by having her learn about Japanese interior materials from the culture and values of a foreign country with a dietary habit and living spaces that are totally different from those of Japan.

インターンシップを受け入れようと思ったきっかけインタビューの様子

活動内容

Having the intern to experience and understand Japanese interior materials and to spread information to overseas through social media

Q.What kind of internship did you run? What difficulties did you face and how did you resolve them?
We started by having the intern learn about the products we handle, the basics of commercial transactions, and business etiquette in Japan, and learned about the differences between Indonesia and Japan from each other. We discussed with her about how she would be able to contribute to our company with her skills, instead of trying to fit into our company. We set two goals for her ? to confirm the international potential of products handled by our company by understanding Japanese interior materials, and to work based on a common recognition of Japan’s unique culture and national character. As main activities, we asked her to look into the potential of Japanese interior materials from an overseas perspective, by participating in showroom tours and the seminars of a major material manufacturer and having opportunities to handle various real materials. Then the results were posted on social media and used for content creation. Taking advantage of her being a trilingual, we had her post articles from an overseas perspective in Japanese, English and Indonesian to disseminate information to people overseas. Social media access was analyzed at the same time, and from objective viewpoints led to new discoveries.

インターンシップの働く様子

受入成果

Our social media page gained a record-breaking number of views, making us realize the potential of Japanese interior design and materials.

Q.Comparing before and after the internship, what effects did it have on you, your employees, or your organization?
We were able to discover the potential of Japanese interior design and materials overseas. Since people overseas have especially high interest in traditional Japanese interior materials,obtain and install overseas, and that interior products that recreate those materials are highly valued. Our social media page in Japanese, English and Indonesian also gained a record-breaking number of views, indicating that it has made our company known to various people. Another effect of the internship was improved awareness within the company. Since our company had not had opportunities to have people from overseas around, the internship highlighted various challenges concerning acceptance of talent from overseas. We are acutely aware of our lack of understanding of overseas culture, and intend to deepen understanding and improve the environment for accepting internships through this experience. We feel that this internship allowed us to learn again the good old Japanese spirit. We feel that the days of working with her who was polite and earnest in pursuing her goals, were a precious time for us. We intend to give positive consideration to participation in similar programs in the future.

インターンシップの働く様子

インターン生の声

The difference between my country and Japan can be overcome by respecting and deepening understanding of each other.

Q.What did you get out of the internship?
The most important things I learned from this internship was respecting and understanding the differences with each other. I learned that lifestyles, cultures and forms of business vary greatly by country and felt that higher performance can be displayed by respecting and understanding each other. Because the employees talked to me mostly in Japanese, my Japanese improved significantly, and thus my understanding of the Japanese language deepened. I recognized the difference between Japan and my company and deepened my knowledge of interior and architecture through my work. There are great differences in lifestyles, prayers, diet, housing and other aspects. Restaurants and other facilities with consideration to such differences were still very few and that caused us a little inconvenience, although it was possible to deal with them by studying and preparing in advance. This internship allowed me to further deepen my understanding of current Japan, and I should be able to contribute to Japan and improve my skills more next time by making more preparation and having more respect. It made me feel more determined about coming to Japan again.

インターン生の声

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インターン/Nabil Ahmed

Bangladesh / Waseda University、Computer Science & Information Systems

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インターンAssem Karatayeva

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企業Kyosui Inc.

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インターンCarmelita Darmawan

Indonesia / University of Indonesia、Japanese Studies in Arts & Humanities Category

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企業SANYOSEIKO.CO.,LTD.

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インターンANH DANG

Vietnam / Shizuoka University、Biological Sciences

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