On August 27, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines announced that it had signed a business alliance agreement with Yamaguchi Sangyo, a company that focuses on petroleum distribution and is newly developing an overseas personnel placement business, regarding the placement of foreign personnel.
<Two Kenyans begin employment at Yamaguchi Sangyo>
<Moi Rumosila, Kenyan Ambassador to Japan>
As the first foreign personnel introduced by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, two Kenyans who will be accepted by Yamaguchi Sangyo arrived in Japan on August 18th. One will work as a systems engineer developing programs, and the other will be involved in developing the recruitment business as a generalist in charge of business planning.
The two Kenyans also spoke at the seminar "Kenya x Japan: Connecting the Future with Human Resources," held by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines on August 19 as a partner project of TICAD 9 (Tokyo International Conference on African Development), and participated in a panel discussion on Kenyans working in Japan.
The seminar was also attended by Moi Rumosila, the Kenyan Ambassador to Japan, who endorsed the project. There were lively presentations and discussions focusing on the potential of Kenyans and other Africans. The Ambassador commented, "Kenyan workers are globally recognized for their technical skills, adaptability, English language proficiency, and diligence, and this initiative by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Yamaguchi Industries will further expand the possibilities for future labor cooperation between Kenya and Japan."
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has focused on the potential of Kenyan talent, a highly educated and highly motivated workforce that often struggles to find employment locally. With the support of the US non-profit organization LaMP (Labor Mobility Partnerships), MOL launched "Project Link" in 2024, a pilot project to introduce Kenyan talent to Japanese companies facing labor shortages.
Meanwhile, Yamaguchi Sangyo is a group of eight companies based in Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and is a general trading company with annual sales exceeding 100 billion yen, with petroleum distribution as its core business. It operates a business that introduces and dispatches highly skilled personnel from overseas to meet the various needs of domestic companies, and plans to strengthen cooperation with local companies and municipalities inside and outside Yamaguchi Prefecture, while also promoting initiatives to support the lives of foreign residents, provide Japanese language education, and promote multicultural coexistence.
