Imajina Hosts Organizational Reform Seminar in Fukuoka Using Cambridge University-Backed Scientific Assessment 'ICA' for Executives Struggling with Severe Labor Shortages! [6/15 Hakata]

Imajina Co., Ltd., a company specializing in corporate branding and organizational transformation consulting, held a business seminar yesterday, June 15, 2026 (Monday), at Aqua Hakata in Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City, to address the severe labor shortage and business succession challenges faced by Fukuoka-based companies.

This press release announces the public launch of Japan's first scientifically grounded personnel assessment tool, 'ICA (Imajina Cambridge Assessment)', developed in partnership with the University of Cambridge, alongside the Harvard-style 'Core Values Penetration Survey'. Together, these tools enable comprehensive visualization of organizational processes—from hiring and optimal placement to individualized development, management promotion, and organizational risk diagnosis—along with the social context driving this initiative.

ICA Dedicated Website

The Hidden Human Capital Crisis Behind Fukuoka’s Vibrant Economic Growth

Fukuoka City is currently experiencing robust economic growth, driven by large-scale urban redevelopment projects such as the 'Tenjin Big Bang'. However, beneath this impressive development lies a severe 'human capital crisis' threatening the survival of local businesses. According to the latest survey by Teikoku Databank, 48.7% of companies in Fukuoka Prefecture are struggling with a shortage of full-time employees, with over 60% of firms in construction and logistics facing critical staffing shortages.

Even more alarming is the stagnation in intergenerational transition—specifically, 'business succession'. The rate of companies without successors in the prefecture has reached 50.8%. Particularly striking is the fact that among companies led by young CEOs under 30 years old, a shocking 83.7% lack a designated successor.

One might assume that for younger CEOs, the absence of a successor is natural. However, in practical management terms, this high rate of absence signifies not just future retirement planning issues, but a critical organizational vulnerability: the lack of a reliable 'number two' or executive candidates to support the CEO. Companies led by younger leaders are especially prone to becoming overly reliant on the CEO’s personal effort—what is known as a 'one-man management system'. As a result, business continuity plans (BCP) become ineffective in emergencies, and systems for cultivating next-generation leaders (management education) are critically underdeveloped. This 'absence of a trusted right-hand person' is the invisible organizational disease that increases employee workload and leads to early turnover, with estimated losses of approximately 6.4 million yen per employee.

Underlying the vicious cycle of hiring difficulties and early employee turnover is Japan’s unique practice of 'untrained managerial promotion'. According to the World Competitiveness Ranking published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland, Japan ranks 60th out of 64 countries in 'management education'. Promoting employees to managerial roles based solely on performance, without adequate training in interpersonal skills, leads to 'employees waiting for instructions' and 'organizational fragmentation' on the ground, resulting in massive early turnover losses estimated at around 6.4 million yen per employee.

From Hiring to Management Promotion and Organizational Risk Diagnosis: The Full Scope of 'ICA' in Strengthening Organizations with Science and Data

In most companies, 'aptitude tests' are used only as disposable 'screening tools' during recruitment. However, 'ICA', the psychological assessment tool jointly developed with the University of Cambridge and introduced in Japan for the first time by Imajina, is an 'end-to-end organizational platform' that supports every phase of organizational management—from hiring and placement to development, management promotion, and even organizational health risk diagnosis—using scientific data.

New and Mid-Career Recruitment (Complete Elimination of Dishonest Responses): Traditional aptitude tests have become obsolete due to the rise of AI-generated model answers and widespread sharing of test preparation strategies on social media. ICA features the world’s most advanced 'four audit scales (falsification, contradiction, self-deprecation, inattention)' to detect AI-generated responses through statistical inconsistencies, accurately revealing the individual’s true essence—honesty and personality traits—without embellishment.

Optimal Placement (Merit-Based, Not Intuition-Based): By precisely measuring 16 personality dimensions, ICA objectively identifies departments or roles where an individual’s traits can be maximally utilized. This eliminates mismatches caused by arbitrary placement and the resulting employee burnout and turnover risks.

Individualized Development (Transforming Managerial Communication Skills): Beyond just providing scores, ICA guides 'personalized development approaches' tailored to each individual’s qualities. Based on diagnostic results, it provides managers with 'guidance examples customized to personality traits' for use in interviews (1-on-1 meetings). This enables scientific and effective questioning and coaching that does not rely on a manager’s intuition or experience.

Management Promotion and Identifying Right-Hand Leaders and Successors: Excellence as an individual contributor differs from suitability for managerial or executive (number two) roles. To prevent Japan’s critical issue of 'untrained managerial promotion', ICA measures leadership suitability and emotional intelligence (EQ) across 16 personality dimensions. This provides a foundation for systematically identifying and developing candidates who can be entrusted with the company’s future.

Organizational Risk Diagnosis (Preventing Turnover and Boosting Engagement): By aggregating and analyzing data across the entire organization, ICA visualizes resonance with the company’s mission (synchronization rate) and potential internal risks such as fragmentation, harassment, and declining motivation. This enables proactive organizational improvements before problems surface.

Maximizing the Success Rate of Human Capital Investment: The Integrated 'People-Centric × Organization-Centric' Method

Imajina’s proposed organizational transformation method is distinguished by its high-level integration of the 'people-centric axis (ICA)'—which identifies individual talents—and the 'organization-centric axis (Core Values Penetration Survey)'—which visualizes organizational engagement.

The 'Core Values Penetration Survey' quantifies, across four dimensions, how deeply the company’s mission and values are 'understood', 'translated into action', 'resonate emotionally', and 'spread to others' within the organization. This helps identify managerial challenges, supports the creation of fair evaluation systems using shared values as a common language, and reconstructs a culture of autonomous action.

Globally, top market-cap companies invest approximately 15 times more in talent education than Japanese firms. Companies with systematic executive and successor development programs achieve over four times higher revenue growth compared to those without. Moving forward, Imajina will continue to provide world-class, end-to-end solutions—from hiring to development and placement—starting in Fukuoka and expanding to regional enterprises nationwide, striving to build sustainable, resilient corporate cultures that support local economies.

【Seminar Overview】

Date: Monday, June 15, 2026, 17:00–18:30 (Doors open at 16:45)

Venue: 3rd Floor, Conference Room D, Aqua Hakata (5-3-8 Nakasu, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture)

Admission: Free

Speaker: Yoshiki Sekino (President & CEO, Imajina Co., Ltd.)

【Inquiries】

Contact: Minami Aoe TEL: 03-3511-5525 FAX: 03-3511-8228 MAIL: info@imajina.com