Technical instruction requires a relationship of trust
Tochigi Nikon accepts young technicians from Nikon Imaging (China) as trainees and provides them with instruction. Veteran technicians like Mr. Takashio also visit China and instruct at local factories.
When teaching trainees from overseas, instructors come up against language and cultural barriers. Accordingly, Mr. Takashio gives detailed demonstrations of lens-polishing himself, to show the trainees how it is done. He does not resort to an interpreter, and instead speaks to them in his own words as best he can. In this way, he develops a relationship of trust with the trainees. As a result, they work at their Japanese and are then able to understand what Mr. Takashio is saying.
When Tochigi Nikon first accepted trainees from Nikon Imaging (China), Mr. Takashio would set each trainee the task of learning a Japanese song before they returned to China. Songs are part of a nation's culture. He wanted the trainees to learn about Japanese culture—as well as manufacturing techniques—and it was this desire that prompted Mr. Takashio to set the trainees such an unusual assignment. The songs naturally spark communication between the Chinese trainees and their Japanese colleagues at the factory and also increase the relationship of trust.