AOTS Journal 2017 AUTUMN No.11 （ENGLISH)

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JOURNAL6The following describes how the AOTS’s expert dispatch program has been used. KINUOZAWA Co. Ltd., a company engaged in the development, manufacture, and sale of silk linings, has sent experts to a silk-reeling factory in Kayin (older name: Karen) State in eastern Myanmar several times since 2014, with the aim of transferring the Japanese traditional silk-reeling technology to that region. The State of Kayin, which has faced a problem of a lack of job opportunities for women, is now home to a new industry where many local women can exert their full potentials. Conversely, the Japanese silk industry, which has long been in decline, now sees a new way of growth.We have interviewed representatives from KINUOZAWA Co. Ltd., and its partner in setting up and operating the local factory, Daimatsu Co., Ltd. ; as well as the dispatched experts, to learn about the background of the dispatch, effects of their instruction, and their expectations for the future.KINUOZAWA Co. Ltd.Head Ofce: 3-5-3 Tonya-machi, Takasaki-shi, GunmaEstablished: 1953Capital: 35 million yenEmployees: 28Description of business: Development, manufacture, and sales of silk liningsDaimatsu Co., Ltd.Head Ofce: 4-8-10-101 Tsukishima, Chuo-ku, TokyoEstablished: 2011Capital: 10 million yenEmployees: 8Description of business: Planning, manufacture, and sales of kimono and accessoriesThe Rise of the Japanese Silk-reeling Technology in MyanmarCould you tell us what has brought you to use the AOTS’s expert dispatch program?Together with Mr. Keiji Fujii, Chairman of Daimatsu Co.,Ltd., which is a business partner of our company, we visited Kayin State in eastern Myanmar in November 2012. We were accompa-nied by staff members of the Embassy of Japan in Myanmar and the National League for Democracy (NLD). During this visit, we were asked to provide assistance in creating jobs for women from the locally residing Karen ethnic group. After the inspection tour, we were wondering if we could cooperate with them by making the most of Karen women’s tradition of hand-weaving.Currently, in Japan, hand-woven textiles have more added value than those made by machines. However, silk products are rarely made from the process of raw materials in Japan. Use of silk thread from fully-domestic production accounts for 0.1%; whereas the remaining majority is imported from countries like China. So, we at rst planned to plant mulberry trees in Kayin State, and teach Karen women the Japanese methods of hand-spinning silk during the growth of the trees. In fact, this benets both of the parities as we will be able to import high value-added silk thread.At about the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs intro-duced us to the human resource development programs of the AOTS. We decided to use the AOTS’s expert dispatch program, for it matched our needs for silk-reeling technique training. In January 2014, Ms. Nobue Hiraishi, an expert in “Joshu zaguri * ” was sent to a local silk production factory as the rst expatriate expert. She has been running a sericulture business and silk-reeling workshop in Gunma Prefecture for a long time. Her husband, Mr. Wataru Hiraishi, was also sent with her to the factory to share his knowhow on management with the managers, using his past managerial experience in an IT company. Under his instructions, local staff members have acquired necessary knowledge about production management and personnel management. Much trouble has been saved by being able to monitor work progress in Japan, through periodical reports. Up to present, we have sent both or either of them a total of nine times.*A manual silk-reeling method in which silk thread is pulled off from cocoons and spun onto a reel by an operator in sitting position, traditionally practiced in Joshu, present-day Gunma PrefectureFront exterior of the factoryExamples of the AOTS’s Training Programs for Human Resource Development KINUOZAWA Co. Ltd.