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We offer best-quality consulting services based on an in-depth understanding of our society, culture, economy, industry and corporate management.
 
The basic concept of our consulting is job-based  human resources management. We will reinforce the concept by implementing it to real companies. Our target is to spread our concept, implemented and proven in the field, to the world.
 
Our clients are partners to us. We will build and develop long-term partnerships with our clients and share our successes.
 
We will demonstrate our capability of managing a company by practicing best management in our own firm and will become the only strategic HR consulting firm in Japan based on our basic concept.

Our Mission

About Us

Greetings for the New Year 2024 Celebrating 20 Years of Minori's Establishment

秋山健一郎

The dawn of the Year of the Dragon, 2024, is upon us. Happy New Year!

 

As Minori marks its 20th anniversary since its founding on January 4, 2004, we embark on the commencement of our 21st year. Reflecting on the journey, it is truly heartening to realize that the longevity of our consulting work has been made possible by the support of our clients and those around us.

 

Our founding principles were centered around the commitment to "Practice consulting to enhance Japanese companies. Aim for the support of designing and operating integrated systems that underpin business strategies, encompassing organization, work, and human resources, and strive for the creation of mechanisms that benefit both management and people, pursuing quality rather than scale expansion." The core concepts to implement this vision were the "Minori Concept," consisting of 1) an integrated human resource management system centered around job/roles and 2) a philosophy of total rewards, emphasizing both monetary and non-monetary rewards. While the concept of "job-based employment" is now commonly acknowledged, Minori has been steadfastly pursuing these principles since its inception. Over the past 20 years, our collaboration with partners worldwide has allowed us to accumulate experiences, skills, and insights that set us apart with a sense of pride.

 

Amidst various events over the past two decades, both Japan and the world have undergone significant transformations. Notably, the challenges of COVID in 2020, the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the explosive growth of ChatGPT and the Israel-Palestine issue in 2023 all wield substantial influence on the future of the world.

In the realm of Minori's consulting work, the dramatic shift in the working style of the Japanese post-COVID and the rapid penetration of ChatGPT have been particularly noteworthy. The swift adoption of remote work by Japanese companies was unimaginable before, but now it has become commonplace. The necessity of “job-based employment” began to be emphasized, triggered by the shift to remote work. While technological support such as Zoom facilitated a seemingly smooth transition, there continues to be ongoing experimentation and learning regarding the practicalities and evaluation of work in remote settings.

 

As advocates of HR systems based on job/roles, Minori aims to use this opportunity to actively support the transition to an integrated HR system. Similarly, the usage of ChatGPT is still evolving, but it is anticipated that it will significantly streamline work processes in various fields.

 

This transformative wave is not limited to Japan but is equally impacting the global landscape. Minori maintains regular information exchange with its overseas partners like Creelman Research, and sustains collaborative relationships on specific projects. Recognizing the need for responses that consider the world, not just Japan, we are confident that a global perspective is essential. Given these circumstances, it is clear that Minori still has much to contribute, and we remain committed to supporting the development of Japanese companies for the foreseeable future.

 

As part of this commitment, we plan to host the "Minori Seminar" in May this year. Despite the hiatus due to COVID, we believe that providing accurate and fundamental information on the design and operation of job-based HR systems is crucial at this moment. Starting from December of last year, we have been publishing information related to the "Minori Concept" in the column of "Nihon no Jinjibu" and we are planning to elaborate on this content directly during the seminar in May. We encourage those interested to refer to our column articles and consider participating in the seminar.

 

We extend our gratitude for the continued support of Minori's activities into the future.

New Year's Day 2024
 

Kenichiro Akiyama

Representative Director

Minori Management Research Institute

 

Our Concept

Since its founding in 2004, Minori Management Research Institute (Minori) has consistently provided management support so that diverse human resources can demonstrate their abilities anywhere in the world and work energetically. We have named the concept that forms the core of this concept the "Minori Concept," and propose a logical and easy-to-understand personnel system based on roles.

Concept (1)

Comprehensive human resource management that supports corporate philosophy and strategy

The Minori Concept is a human resource management concept that supports the corporate philosophy/strategy and supports the achievement of the strategy. The overall picture of human resource management in the Minori Concept includes:

​ Concept (2)

Total Reward


In the Minori Concept, the concept of remuneration is broadly understood as a whole policy for employees.
We believe that it is important to build a system that takes into account the overall consistency of the overall remuneration, based on the role, with a broad concept of total remuneration.

total reward(Total Reward)

In the Minori Concept, the concept of remuneration is broadly understood as a whole policy for employees.
We believe that it is important to build a system that takes into account the overall consistency of the overall remuneration, based on the role, with a broad concept of total remuneration.

Company Profile

​company name

headquarters

phone

fax

email

URL

founded

capital

board of directors

MINORI Management Research Institute

4-3-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Shiroyama Trust Tower 27th Floor

+81-(0)3-5404-8563

+81-(0)3-3778-9199

January 5, 2004

16 million yen

Kenichiro Akiyama, Representative Director
Eiko SaitoDirector

Our Consultants 

秋山健一郎
齋藤英子
髙橋恭仁子
伊丸岡美奈子

Kenichiro Akiyama

Eiko Saito

Kuniko Takahashi

Minako Imaruoka

Representative Director of MINORI

Co-Founder

Director of MINORI

​Senior Consultant 

of MINORI

​Researcher

of MINORI

Kenichiro Akiyama

Representative Director,

MINORI Management Research Institute

He was a partner at Hay Consulting Group (currently Korn Ferry) (1994-1996) and PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting in Japan (2000-2002), responsible for Human Resources Management Consulting Services and Strategic Change Practice. 


He has worked as a consultant as well as a project manager, for both Japanese and multinational companies operating in Japan, for more than 20 years. His work has focused mainly on helping companies develop strategies for changing their business models, organization and HR systems and transforming their culture.
 
Prior to consultancy he worked at Mitsui & Co., Ltd., (one of the biggest Sogo Shosha) as assistant manager in the Plant and Project Department; Isuzu Motors Ltd., as manager of the Corporate Planning Department; and DHL Japan, as the head of the Corporate Planning Department and the Marketing Department.

Eiko Saito

Director

MINORI Management Research Institute

She was Executive Compensation Expertise Leader and Senior Consultant at Hay Consulting Group (currently Korn Ferry), and is a co-founder of MINORI Management Research Institute.
 
She has more than 20 years of experience in the formulation of human resources strategy and the design, development, implementation and maintenance of compensation and human resources programs for various Japanese and foreign-capital companies.
 
She is a co-author of  “The Revolution of Executive Directors” published in May 1998, “Design Guide of Incentive-Based Compensation System for Meritocracy” in 1996, and  “New Salary and Performance Management System Design Guide” in 1994.

Kuniko Takahashi

Senior Consultant
MINORI Management Research Institute

Completed MBA at Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of Commerce.

After 12 years of consulting experience in the human resources and organizational fields at Hay Consulting Group (currently Korn Ferry) and PwC Consulting (currently IBM), he worked in the corporate planning department of a Japanese manufacturing company for 12 years in the business field. Experienced in management, new business development, and M&A practice. After that, he participated in the management of an agricultural venture company. Currently, as an independent consultant, he participates in various consulting projects and human resource development programs in the fields of personnel, organization, and regional revitalization.
BoardHR Initiative White Paper "Competencies of Excellent Managers", Yuhikaku "Disparity in Profit Margins of Japanese and American Companies" Edited by Takayuki Itami, Toyo Keizai Inc. "Corporate Strategy White Paper III" Edited by Takayuki Itami.
 

Minako Imaruoka

Researcher
MINORI Management Research Institute

She joined MINORI in October 2006.
Before that, she worked at a software company as a programmer, and then worked at Hay Japan as a researcher. 
She has 10 years of  experience in compensation analysis and compensation survey.

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