Tanabe Consulting Group Plans and Manages METI Kinki Bureau's "OJT-Style Cross-Boundary Learning Program Debriefing Session," an Initiative for Regional Supporters to Learn Across Organizational Boundaries

Tanabe Consulting Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo and Yodogawa-ku, Osaka; President & CEO: Takahiko Wakamatsu), a pioneer in Japanese management consulting, planned and managed the "On-the-Job Cross-Boundary Support Practice Training" sponsored by the Small and Medium Enterprise Policy Research Division, General Affairs and Planning Department, Kinki Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry (hereinafter referred to as Kinki Bureau), and its results presentation, the "OJT-Style Cross-Boundary Learning Program Debriefing Session for Enhancing Support Capabilities," on Wednesday, March 4, 2026.

**1. About the "On-the-Job Cross-Boundary Support Practice Training"**

The "On-the-Job Cross-Boundary Support Practice Training," hosted by the Kinki Bureau, aims to develop regional supporters. It is a training program that provides issue-setting-based, hands-on support to companies aiming for growth. Teams composed of 7 experienced support team leaders and 39 participants from various support organizations in the Kinki region, such as local governments, chambers of commerce, and financial institutions, provided hands-on support to 8 growth-oriented companies in the Kinki region. Tanabe Consulting was responsible for planning and managing this training, as well as visualizing and analyzing tacit knowledge as a researcher, and reported the summary of the results.

This training is a challenging initiative that aims to "raise the support capabilities" of regional support institutions. It does so by having teams that cross organizational boundaries, including experienced supporters (leaders), work together to provide corporate support, while also focusing on both tacit and explicit knowledge to connect to the practical learning of the supporters. It went beyond being a mere training program, providing an opportunity for the supporters to undergo their own self-transformation while delivering added value to the client companies.

Tanabe Consulting was commissioned for the "FY2025 Survey on the State of Small and Medium Enterprises (Survey on the Effectiveness of 'On-the-Job Cross-Boundary Support Practice Training' for Strengthening Support Capabilities and Systems for Growth-Oriented Companies)," a project by the Small and Medium Enterprise Policy Research Division, General Affairs and Planning Department, Kinki Bureau, and managed this debriefing session.

**2. Scenes from the "OJT-Style Cross-Boundary Learning Program Debriefing Session for Enhancing Support Capabilities"**

The debriefing session for this training was held on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, with over 70 people participating, including online attendees from all over the country.

Mr. Takeharu Ninomiya, Director of the Office for Promotion of Hands-on Support for Business Restructuring, Business Support Department, Small and Medium Enterprise Agency, gave a lecture on "The Significance of Hands-on Support for Growth-Oriented Companies." Next, Mr. Hamada, Section Chief (in charge) of the Small and Medium Enterprise Policy Research Division, General Affairs and Planning Department, Kinki Bureau, reported on the overview of the training and the content of the six-month hands-on support provided by 39 members from 21 institutions, including local governments, chambers of commerce, and financial institutions. In a talk session by training participants, Mr. Tomoyuki Ikeda, Senior Advisor of the Corporate Support Department, SME Support, Kinki, and training participants Mr. Hiroki Ishibashi of Eiwa Shinkin Bank and Mr. Kenta Hino of the Kinki Bureau shared what they learned from the training.

Furthermore, a deeper discussion was held on the theme of "What is necessary to foster as many 'good supporters' as possible in organizations and regions?" with Mr. Motokuni Kurosawa, Area-wide Instructor of the Saitama Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and Mr. Akira Fujiwara, General Manager of the Regional Business Department, Resona Research Institute, as invited guests.

In the latter half, Shuhei Kawamura, General Partner of the Strategy & Domain Consulting Division at Tanabe Consulting, took the stage. He explained the analysis results that broke down and visualized the characteristics of tacit knowledge held by "good supporters" in providing hands-on support for growth-oriented companies, as well as a 5-step model of supporter thinking and behavior.

Based on its extensive consulting track record of over 22,100 companies since its founding, Tanabe Consulting will continue to contribute to regions by supporting various companies, primarily mid-sized enterprises, throughout Japan.

**About Tanabe Consulting Group (TCG)**

TCG is a pioneer in Japanese management consulting, founded in 1957 and listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Under the management philosophy of "To love companies, to walk with companies, and to serve for the prosperity of companies," we have established the purpose "Supporting that decision with love, changing the world." as our contribution value for the future society. Today, we have become a management consulting group with 8 group companies and over 900 professional personnel. Our main clients are the top management (executive level) of large to medium-sized companies, with a focus on mid-sized enterprises in Japan and overseas, and we have a track record of supporting over 22,100 companies since our founding.

With a top-management approach, from management strategy formulation to the implementation and execution of management operations through professional DX services, we offer a unique one-stop management consulting model that supports everything from upstream to downstream management through team consulting. We are expanding this model not only through close-to-region domestic services but also globally.