Elämä and Meitetsu World Travel Launch Nine-Day Finland Program on Autonomous Work in the AI Era

Elämä LLC, a company based in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture that plans and operates Finland-inspired learning and well-being programs, is recruiting participants until July 1, 2026 for its training program in Oulu, Finland, titled “Training Program in Finland to Envision Autonomous Ways of Working for Individuals and Organizations in the AI Era” (tour code: ELM20261001). Since 2019, the program has been adopted as corporate training by a total of four companies. The program is produced by Yumi Ishihara, a researcher of Finnish lifelong education and representative of Elämä. Moe Hirata, a freelance HR and talent development consultant, will accompany the full itinerary as program director. Travel arrangements and tour escort services will be handled by Meitetsu World Travel Inc. The nine-day program departs on October 17, 2026. As generative AI spreads rapidly, many companies are improving operational efficiency, but new issues are emerging. Employees may lose the ability to think independently by delegating judgment to AI, decision fatigue may accumulate due to information overload, and managers may struggle to respond to changes caused by AI adoption, leading to lower team motivation. Elämä describes this phenomenon as a form of “AI fatigue” and proposes on-site training in Finland, a country advanced in AI and consistently ranked first in the world for happiness. Finland’s productivity, measured by GDP per capita, is about 1.75 times that of Japan, while the country is also known for its advanced work-life balance. Having experienced Nokia’s management crisis, Finland elevated the ability to learn from failure into a national strategy. This culture of resilience is positioned as exactly what Japanese companies need in the AI era. Ishihara says that what is needed in the AI era is not only the skill to use AI, but also the ability to have one’s own axis and make autonomous judgments, and that Finland has social systems rooted in cultivating this capacity. The program has three distinctive features. The first is a two-day “Workstyle Well-Being Training” led by Finland-based lifestyle expert Monika Luukkonen. Luukkonen previously worked for Nokia and was stationed in Japan, and has published three books about Finland in Japan. She is currently an account manager at the University of Oulu and a doctoral student, researching and practicing autonomous ways of working that incorporate well-being and resilience. For participants who are not comfortable with English, the program director will provide conceptual translation and supplementary explanations. The second feature is a visit to OSAO, a vocational college in Oulu and one of Finland’s largest vocational education institutions, to observe entrepreneurship education. Participants will see firsthand an educational setting rooted in autonomous learning and a culture that does not fear failure, and will have dialogue sessions with students and teachers to engage directly with Finnish views on careers and work. The third feature is a full-day “Forest Nature School” for working adults, led by Rita Polojärvi, founder and CEO of Naturest Finland Oy, a specialist organization in forest wellness. Rather than a simple hike, the program includes mental exercises and a workshop on “finding one’s own place,” allowing participants to experience the psychological restorative effects of forests, known as green care. The company is certified for sustainable travel by Visit Finland and also provides training programs to companies in Finland. As corporate training, the program is expected to contribute to next-generation leadership development, prevention of burnout among managers and core talent, retention of high-performing employees, psychological safety and organizational culture reform, and recruitment branding. Past participants have said the program helped them objectively reflect on their present selves and changed how they interacted with subordinates after returning to work. Others said Finland’s autonomous workstyle felt essential in the AI era. The program runs from October 17 to October 25, 2026, for nine days in Oulu, Finland. Capacity is 16 participants, with a minimum of 10 required for the tour to operate. Participants must be junior high school age or older; high school students and younger must be accompanied by a guardian. The travel fee is 847,000 yen per person based on double occupancy, excluding fuel surcharges and taxes. Flights will be operated by Finnair, and accommodation will be at Lapland Hotels Oulu. The program is supervised by Elämä LLC and Yumi Ishihara, directed by Moe Hirata, and planned and operated as a tour by Meitetsu World Travel Inc.