Features

My Life Changing Training in Japan continues

Published

11 months ago

2025/04/20

Thilina Walpola

Perfectly aligned parking

LESSONS FROM MY CAREER: SYNTHESIZING MANAGEMENT THEORY WITH PRACTICE – PART 9

The Japanese Culture and Corporate Practices

After the preliminaries, we started the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) course in earnest. While different lecturers took us through the post-war developments, the structure of the industry, the Corporate Practices, and so on, a few struck me as unusual but effective in Japan, but perhaps not implementable in Sri Lanka.

One was the lifetime employment practice of Japan and the loyalty to one organization rather than the profession. For example, if you ask a Japanese what his job is, he will likely say, “I work for Mitsubishi, or I work at Nissan.” We in Sri Lanka would perhaps say, “I am an engineer, or I am an accountant”.

Furthermore, the rise within the organization in Japan is on a rotational basis, meaning that your degree may be in engineering, but you may be placed in Marketing and move on to HR. When you come to a senior level, you are familiar with all functional areas. There are very few specialists.

Although there may be a premium for your qualification at the start of your career, the increments are based on seniority. There is a very high respect for senior positions and for age. At Dankotuwa Porcelain, when I thought it was time to retire at 60, the Japanese would have none of it. “In Japan, life begins at sixty, they told me,” and I had to hold on.

The Japanese value teamwork and are shy about performing individual employee evaluations as they may disrupt the harmony of the team. Even the famous Edward Deming, an American who revolutionized quality management in Japan, considered individual employee performance evaluation one of America’s deadly diseases. He says it destroys people rather than build them. In my career, I have always had a mixture of the American and Japanese systems.

These sessions gave us a thorough understanding of Japanese practices, culture, and habits so that we could relate well to the lectures to follow. One word of caution, though: Many of these traditional systems are giving way to modern ones that are more performance-based, with faster decision-making and a high focus on performance.

The history lessons were also very appropriate: learning about the closed period to the outside world, the Meiji restoration and opening up, and modernization. This part of the program was for information only to better understand Japan. It was not meant to be prescriptive. However, the next phase was more prescriptive.

The Japanese are more consultative in decision-making, using Ringi and Kaizen to consult even the lowest-level workers to solicit ideas on floor-level issues. While they deeply respect the hierarchy, they often meet after work in a restaurant to have a drink and treat their bosses as peers. The Japanese word for drinking is Nomu. Communicating freely while drinking is therefore termed ‘nomunication”.

Japanese Culture through American Eyes

One of our first lecture series was delivered by the President of the American Institute of Industrial Engineers, Dr Marvin Mundel from Purdue University, USA. His knowledge and analysis of Japanese culture were superb. He was fluent in Japanese, speaking, reading and writing. He was married to a Japanese lady. The American occupying forces had commissioned him to audit some Government functions during the post-war period. What more credentials would you need to teach us Japanese culture and habits from a different viewpoint? He would occasionally entertain us by relating hilarious stories. When Gen MacArthur was in control of Japan, the Japanese occasionally tried to fool the auditor and discuss the matter in Japanese, not realizing that the auditor (Mundel) understood every word they said privately.

Japanese are very private individuals, and it is very difficult to get into their inner core. I learned this much later, working with the Japanese at Dankotuwa Porcelain. While it took some years to gain their trust, it was a different story once you were closer to the core. In fact, they were fiercely loyal to me thereafter. It takes some time to win their trust, but you will never get into the core.

I recall Dr Mundel’s visit to Sri Lanka. We hosted him and Prof John Carson for dinner. Professor John Carson was in Sri Lanka for one academic term to conduct a course at the Postgraduate Institute of Management. At the dinner, the conversion shifted to the Japanese and Japanese Management. At one stage, Professor Carson asked Dr Mundel, “Have you ever got close to a Japanese because they are so reserved?”. The answer surprised Prof Carson because Dr Mundel’s response was, “Yes, I have got very close; in fact, I married one”. Prof Carson almost fell off his chair.

Back to the course, Dr Mundel’s industrial engineering expertise was mainly focused on measuring and improving the productivity of service sector activities. He even authored a publication on this, which was considered the “Bible” for industrial engineers. Just before coming to Japan, I was working on an assignment to improve the productivity of the Leave Unit at the Ceylon Tyre Corporation. Despite its eight clerical staff, it was unable to meet the deadlines.

They resisted my efforts, claiming that no one could measure clerical work. I got all the answers in Japan, learned the techniques from Dr Mundel’s 10-day course, and solved the problem on my return. I even recommended reducing staff by two and improving the process to deliver the required information much earlier than expected. The unit discussed the new timeline with the general manager and agreed to the new timeline but requested that the transfer of the two redundant staff be suspended for the time being. It was granted. The unit was unhappy; they were dissatisfied with me and showed it at every party after the first round of drinks.

Absolute cleanliness

Learning Corporate Management Techniques

There were many lectures that taught us quality management techniques, productivity analysis, problem isolation, and so on. They were so refined and nowhere comparable with what we were using in Sri Lanka. The Japanese strategy of making everyone understand the concepts of quality improvement through lessons on the radio, lessons on TV, and Government exhortations to improve quality to enable the country to bounce back after the war was unique.

A technique I learned and use even today is “Behaviour Modelling,” which trains managers to handle employee grievances. The philosophy of looking after your workers has long historical roots in Japan. There are many examples of Japanese companies experiencing a downturn, but the last resort is retrenchment.

Another great habit I got to know and practice even now is the habit and techniques of getting to the root causes without merely using your gut feelings, assumptions, and hunches. In the rest of my career, I had a policy for my subordinates: They were disallowed from suggesting causes without analyzing the data substantiated with visual presentations.

The one-week Business Game halfway through the course was to surface what we did not know. It was exhausting and set up according to an actual Japanese business cycle, with a mock bank and a media house. We were organized into companies. Two companies went bankrupt. The lesson was that we need to understand finance and marketing, too, to be successful decision-makers.

The final presentation was in a lovely hotel near Mount Fuji. It was at that program, when I made my presentation and separated what we can control from what we cannot, that Professor Kawase of Keio University told me, “Mr Wijesinha, in Japan, we do not consider anything uncontrollable. What you see around you and Japan’s economic miracle are due to this belief.” Since then, I, too, have adopted this policy.

Study Tours

Our visits to factories were many and quite fascinating. They were all guided, and all important aspects were well explained. I had never seen such orderly and clean factories. Even the small-scale, family-run factories were well organized. One phenomenon in all factories was that the refreshments served were never lavish. Much later, at Dankotuwa Porcelain, the Japanese Technical Director told me that there is a saying in Japan that if you are lavish with your entertainment, the organization is bound to fail. We were beginning to understand the frugal habits inculcated by the Shinto practices.

Having seen the wonderful Japanese factories, I was determined to improve our Tyre Corporation factory upon my return. While I got some support from the middle management, I found the senior management quite sceptical. I managed to get at least the floor lines drawn to separate the walking aisles on which no material or trolleys should be kept only to find that the lines were deliberately obliterated by the workers that very day. Our strategy may have been wrong. We should have convinced the workers of the benefits. After my MBA, about five years later, I learned the science and art of managing change.

Sightseeing in Japan

The organizers generously arranged sightseeing tours for us, often along with factory visits or educational programs. From the Tokyo Tower to the Mikimoto Pearl Island, we saw most of the significant places. Kyoto, the ancient capital, was fantastic. The places of worship were so clean and hygienic. The temples and shrines were frequented by busy businessmen and corporate executives who would move their hands to gather the incense fragrance towards them to “purify their heart,” they said.

These three months in Japan changed my life, my beliefs, and I was able to contribute substantially to transfer of Japanese Management Techniques to Sri Lanka.

The next episode would be Moving On from the Tyre Corporation.

Sunil G Wijesinha

(Consultant on Productivity and Japanese Management Techniques

Retired Chairman/Director of several Listed and Unlisted companies.

Awardee of the APO Regional Award for promoting Productivity in the Asia and Pacific Region

Recipient of the “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays” from the Government of Japan.

He can be contacted through email at bizex.seminarsandconsulting@gmail.com)

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Features

Mannar’s silent skies: Migratory Flamingos fall victim to power lines amid Wind Farm dispute

Published

19 hours ago

2026/03/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Victims: Flamingos / Birds found dead in Mannar

By Ifham Nizam

A fresh wave of concern has gripped conservationists following the reported deaths of migratory flamingos within the Vankalai Sanctuary—a globally recognised bird habitat—raising urgent questions about the ecological cost of large-scale renewable energy projects in the region.

The incident comes at a time when a fundamental rights petition, challenging the proposed wind power project, linked to India’s Adani Group, remains under examination before the Supreme Court, with environmental groups warning that the very risks they highlighted are now materialising.

At least two flamingos—believed to be part of the iconic migratory flocks that travel thousands of kilometres to reach Sri Lanka—were found dead after entanglement with high-tension transmission lines running across the sanctuary. Another bird was reportedly struggling for survival.

Professor Sampath Seneviratne, a leading ornithologist, expressed deep concern over the development, noting that such incidents are not isolated but indicative of a broader and predictable threat.

“These migratory birds depend on specific flyways that have remained unchanged for centuries. When high-risk infrastructure, like poorly planned power lines, intersect these routes, collisions become inevitable,” he said. “What we are witnessing now could be just the beginning if proper mitigation measures are not urgently implemented.”

Environmentalists argue that the Mannar region—particularly the Vankalai wetland complex—is one of the most critical stopover sites in South Asia for migratory waterbirds, including flamingos, pelicans, and various species of waders. The sanctuary’s ecological value has also supported a niche with growing eco-tourism sector, drawing birdwatchers from around the world.

Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Justice, Dilena Pathragoda, said the incident underscores the urgency of judicial intervention and stricter environmental oversight.

“This tragedy is a direct consequence of ignoring scientifically established environmental safeguards. We have already raised these concerns before court, particularly regarding the location of transmission infrastructure within sensitive bird habitats,” Pathragoda said.

“Renewable energy cannot be pursued in isolation from ecological responsibility. If due process and proper environmental impact assessments are bypassed or diluted, then such losses are inevitable.”

Conservation groups have long cautioned that the installation of wind turbines and associated grid infrastructure—especially overhead transmission lines—within or near sensitive habitats could transform these landscapes into lethal zones for avifauna.

An environmental activist involved in the ongoing legal challenge said the latest deaths validate earlier warnings.

“This is exactly what we feared. Development is necessary, but not at the cost of biodiversity. When projects of this scale proceed without adequate ecological assessments and safeguards, the consequences are irreversible,” the activist stressed.

The debate has once again brought into focus the delicate balance between renewable energy expansion and biodiversity conservation. While wind energy is widely promoted as a clean alternative to fossil fuels, experts caution that “green” does not automatically mean “harmless.”

Professor Seneviratne emphasised that solutions do exist, including rerouting transmission lines, installing bird diverters, and conducting comprehensive migratory pathway studies prior to project approval.

“Globally, there are well-established mitigation strategies. The issue here is not the absence of knowledge, but the failure to apply it effectively,” he noted.

The timing of the incident is particularly worrying. Migratory flamingos typically remain in Sri Lanka until late April or May before embarking on their return journeys. Conservationists warn that if hazards remain unaddressed, larger flocks could face similar risks in the coming weeks.

Beyond ecological implications, experts also highlight potential economic fallout. Wildlife tourism—especially birdwatching—contributes significantly to local livelihoods in Mannar.

Repeated reports of bird deaths could deter eco-conscious travellers and damage the region’s reputation as a safe haven for migratory species.

Environmentalists are now calling for immediate intervention by authorities, including a temporary halt to high-risk operations in sensitive zones, pending a thorough environmental review.

They stress that protecting animal movement corridors—whether elephant migration routes or avian flyways—is a fundamental pillar of modern conservation.

As the controversy unfolds, one question looms large: can Sri Lanka pursue sustainable energy without sacrificing the very natural heritage that defines it?

Pathragoda added that for now, the sight of fallen flamingos in Mannar stands as a stark reminder that development, if not carefully planned, can carry a heavy and irreversible cost.

Features

‘Weaponizing’ religion in the pursuit of power

Published

19 hours ago

2026/03/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

President Donald Trump; miscalculating in M-E / Ayatollah Khomeini; Architect of Iranian Revolution

A picture of US President Donald Trump apparently being prayed for by supporters, appearing in sections of the international media, said it all loud and clear. That is, religion is being flagrantly leveraged or prostituted by politicians single-mindedly bent on furthering their power aspirations.

Although in the case of the US President the trend took on may be an exceptionally graphic or dramatic form, the ‘weaponizing’ of religion is nothing particularly new, nor is it confined to only religiously conservative sections of the West. For example, in South Asia it is an integral part of politics. The ‘South Asian Eight’ are notorious for it and it could be unreservedly stated that in Sri Lanka, the latter’s ethnic conflict would be more amenable to resolution if religion was not made a potent weapon by ambitious politicians of particularly the country’s South.

The more enlightened sections of Christian believers in the US may not have been able to contain their consternation at the sight of the US President apparently being ‘blessed’ by pastors claiming adherence to Christianity. Any human is entitled to be blessed but not if he is leading his country to war without exhausting all the options at his disposal to end the relevant conflict by peaceful means.

More compounded would be his problem if his directives lead to the death of civilians in the hundreds. In the latter case he is stringently accountable for the spilling of civilian blood, that is, the committing of war crimes.

However, the US along with Israel did just that in the recent bombings of Iran, for instance. The majority of the lives lost were those of civilians. If the US President is endowed with a Christian conscience he would have paused to consider that he is guilty of ordering the taking of the life of another human which is forbidden in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Moreover, the ‘pastors’ praying over the US President should have thought on the above lines as well. May be they were in an effort to curry the President’s favour which is as blame-worthy as legitimizing in some form the taking of civilian lives. Apparently, the realisation is not dawning on all Christian conservatives of the US that some of these ‘pastors’ could very well be the proverbial false prophets and the latter are almost everywhere, even in far distant Sri Lanka.

However, the political reality ‘on the ground’ is that the Christian Right is a stable support base of the Republican Right in the US. Considering this it should not come as a surprise to the seasoned political watcher if the Christian Right, read Christian fundamentalists, are hand-in-glove, so to speak, with President Trump. But it is a scathing indictment on these rightist sections that they are all for perpetrating war and destruction and not for the fostering of peace and reconciliation. Ideally, they should have impressed on their President the dire need to make peace.

That said, political commentators should consider it incumbent on themselves to point out that religion is being ‘weaponized’ in Iran as well. Theocratic rule in Iran has been essentially all about perpetuating the power of the clerical class. The reasons that led to the Islamic Revolution in Iran are complex and the indiscreet Westernization of Iran under the Shah dynasty is one of these but one would have expected Iran to develop from then on into a multi-party, pluralistic democratic state where people would be enjoying their fundamental rights, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for example.

Moreover, Iran should have taken it upon itself to be a champion of world peace, in keeping with its Islamic credentials. But some past regimes in Iran had vowed to virtually bomb Israel out of existence and such regional policy trajectories could only bring perpetual conflict and war. Considering the current state of the Middle East it could be said that the unfettered playing out of these animosities is leading the region and the world to ‘reap the whirlwind’, having recklessly ‘sowed the wind’.

However, religious fundamentalism-inspired conflict and war has spread well beyond the Middle East into almost every region since 1979, the year of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. So much so, knowledgeable opinion now points out that religious identity has come to replace nationalism as a principal shaper of international politics or “geopolitics”, as quite a few sections misleadingly and incorrectly term it.

Elaborating on the decisive influence of religious identity, the well known and far traveled Western journalist Patrick Cockburn says in his authoritative and comprehensive book titled, ‘The Age of Jihad – Islamic State and the Great War for the Middle East’ at page 428 in connection with the war in Chechnya ; ‘If nationalism was not entirely dead, it no longer provided the ideological glue necessary to hold together and motivate people who were fighting a war. Unlike the Islamic faith, it was no longer a belief or a badge of identity for which people would fight very hard.’ (The book in reference was published by VERSO, London and New York).

In his wide coverage of Jihadist Wars the world over Cockburn goes on to state that today a call from a cleric could motivate his followers to lay down no less than their lives for a cause championed by the former. The 9/11 catastrophe alone should convince the observer that this is indeed true.

However, as often pointed out in this column, there is no alternative but to foster peace and reconciliation if a world free of bloodshed and strife is what is being sought. Fortunately we are not short of illustrious persons from the East and West who have shone a light on how best to get to a degree of peace. Besides Mahatma Gandhi of India, who was the subject of this column last week, we have former President of Iran Mohammad Khatami, who made a case for a ‘Dialogue of Civilizations’ rather than a ‘Clash of Civilizations’.

The time is more than ripe to take a leaf from these illustrious personalities, for, the current state of war in the Middle East has raised the possibility of a war that could transcend regional boundaries. The antagonists are obliged to exhaust all the peaceful options with the assistance of the UN system. Besides, war cannot ever have the blessings of the sane.

Features

Venerable Rahula Thera’s 35-year green mission and national Namal Uyana

Published

19 hours ago

2026/03/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Venerable Rahula Thera

It was 35 years ago, on March 28, 1991, that Venerable Rahula Thera, then a young monk, embarked on a journey to the Na forest in Ulpathagama, Palagama, in the Anuradhapura District. Today, three and a half decades later, this mission stands as living proof of the enduring bond between Buddhist philosophy and the natural world.

Marking the 35th year of this green mission, Rahula Thera’s relentless dedication has transformed the National Namal Uyana into an environmental landmark admired not only across Sri Lanka but around the globe, as well.

When studying the life of Venerable Rahula Thera, one cannot ignore the profound connection between Buddhism and the environment. Buddhism is a philosophy deeply attuned to nature. The historical use of the sacred “Na Ruka” by all four Buddhas: Mangala Buddha, Sumana Buddha, Revata Buddha, and Sobhita Buddha — for enlightenment —demonstrates that from time immemorial, Buddhism has maintained a sacred bond with the Na tree. From the birth of Siddhartha to his enlightenment, the propagation of the Dharma, and even the great Parinirvana, all of these milestones unfolded in verdant, living landscapes.

Venerable Rahula Thera did not embark on the Namal Uyana mission seeking government support or personal gain. His commitment sprang from a deep devotion to the Buddha’s teachings on grove cultivation. A grove cultivator is one who spreads compassion for nature. As the Vanaropa Sutta teaches:

Venerable Rahula Thera reclaimed Namal Uyana which was then under the control of timber smugglers and treasure hunters. The term “Wanawasi” does not merely mean living in a forest; it signifies finding rest and enlightenment through nature, free from the destructive roots of greed, sin, and delusion.

Another defining aspect of Venerable Rahula Thera’s 35-year mission is the purification of the human mind. He has consistently taught the thousands who visit Namal Uyana that a person who loves a tree will never harm another human being. As the Dhamma proclaims:

It is important to remember that Venerable Rahula Thera devoted his life, without fear, speaking the truth and taking necessary action, tirelessly advancing the national mission he began. From 1991 to the present, he has worked with every government elected by the people, maintaining impartiality and independence from political ideology. Yet, he never hesitated to raise his voice fearlessly against any individual, of any rank or party, who committed wrongdoing.

Religious and Social Mission

The National Namal Uyana is not merely a forest; it is a magnificent heritage site, dating back to ancient times. Scattered across the landscape are boundary walls, the remains of ancient monastery complexes, and stone carvings believed to date back to the reign of King Devanampiyatissa. In earlier centuries, this sacred land had served as a meditation sanctuary for hundreds of monks. The name “National Namal Uyana,” by which this ecological and archaeological treasure is known today, was introduced by Venerable Rahula Thera in 1991. The government’s later recognition of the site as the National Namal Uyana stands as a significant achievement for both religion and national heritage.

Venerable Rahula Thera is a monk who has lived a life of renunciation. A striking example of this is his decision not to assume the position of Chief Incumbent of the National Namal Uyana Viharaya, instead entrusting the temple to the Ramanna Nikaya and its trustees. In doing so, he set a precedent for the contemporary Sangha. The Thera himself stated that he was merely the trustee of Namal Uyana, not its owner.

Legacy and Continuing Inspiration

The 35th anniversary of Venerable Wanawasi Rahula Thera’s arrival at Namal Uyana is not merely the commemoration of a period of time; it is a message of nature to future generations. Through his work, the Thera revived the ancient Hela tradition of loving trees and venerating the environment as something sacred. This religious and environmental mission remains unforgettable.

The revival experienced by Namal Uyana, after the arrival of Venerable Wanawasi Rahula Thera, is beyond simple description. Some of the major accomplishments achieved under his leadership include:

* Securing and protecting the largest Rose Quartz (Rosa Thirivana) reserve in South Asia.

* Restoring the Na forest spread across hundreds of acres, providing shelter to numerous rare plants and animal species.

* Transforming the area into a living centre for environmental education, offering practical learning experiences for thousands of schoolchildren and university students.

* Drawing the attention of world leaders and international environmentalists to Sri Lanka’s unique environmental heritage.

In recognition of his immense contribution to environmental conservation, Venerable Rahula Thera was honoured with the Presidential Environment Award and the Green Award in 2004—a significant moment in his life. Yet the Thera himself has always remained devoted to the work rather than the recognition it brings, making such appreciation even more meaningful.