The 5S

World Peace through 5S

Avatar photo By Jon Miller Updated on May 24th, 2017

Congratulations to Kaizen Institute Romania, KI Japan for the 2nd successful “5S in the City” event. In cooperation with the Japanese non-profit organization 日本を美しくする会 (Organization to Clean Up Japan), a team of citizens and foreign guests worked to beautify the city and learn the spirit of kaizen. Please see YouTube video below.

The Clean Up Japan organization is not-for-profit, not religiously affiliated, and has the stated aim to remove flaws in society by removing flaws in our hearts through the act of cleaning public spaces. Their activities are nation-wide in Japan and expanding overseas, including a visit to New York City in September.

This humble volunteer organization dedicated to cleaning public streets, parks and toilets was started by Hidesaburo Kagiyama, the founder and retired CEO of a billion dollar Japanese auto parts chain Yellow Hat. He has written a few books on what he learned by cleaning, and practices calligraphy above which reads:

“Pick up one piece and it becomes one piece cleaner”

In the street, in the city, in the heart, one person at a time.

Avatar photo

Jon Miller

Jon has dedicated his 25+ year career to the field of kaizen, continuous improvement, and lean management. Jon spent the first eighteen years of his life in Japan, then graduated from McGill University with a bachelor’s in linguistics.

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