When Improvement Becomes a Legacy: Three Generations on a KAIZEN™ Insight Tour in Japan

A KAIZEN™ Insight Tour through Japan became something more than a learning experience: it gave three generations of an entrepreneurial family the opportunity to explore what values, behaviors, and mindset they want to carry forward into the future.

During the KAIZEN™ Insight Tour in June 2026, three generations of the Pragosa family traveled together through Japan. The first generation brought decades of entrepreneurial experience, the second a current leadership perspective, and the third a view toward the future of the family business.

The journey also opened up a broader perspective on what values and mindset can be carried forward to future generations.

A KAIZEN™ Insight Tour takes participants directly to the Gemba – the place where value is created – to experience Continuous Improvement beyond methods and tools and understand the culture and principles behind it.

Learning where it happens

The journey took the group from Tokyo to Nagoya and Kyoto, combining cultural experiences with Gemba visits across different sectors, including automotive manufacturing, mobility and safety education, education, a major infrastructure project, and an industrial heritage museum.

At an automotive manufacturing company, the group experienced how standardized KAIZEN™ processes, Just-in-Time, Kanban, 5S, visual management, and people development come together to create a mature Continuous Improvement culture. Particularly tangible were practices such as clear standards, low inventory, strong investment in training, and a focus on building trust between employees and management.

Key takeaways from the visit included autonomous maintenance, daily meetings, stronger 5S practices, Just-in-Time material delivery, and a greater focus on safety culture.

Culture begins long before the first day at work

One of the most remarkable Gemba experiences was not in a company at all.

During a visit to a Japanese school, participants saw how responsibility, discipline, and Continuous Improvement can become part of everyday life from an early age. Students themselves practice 5S, work with team boards and PDCA, and take responsibility for presenting the outcomes of the day.

For a journey involving three generations, this was particularly meaningful. It demonstrated that a Continuous Improvement culture does not start with tools – it starts with behaviors and beliefs that are developed over time.

Three generations, three perspectives

The personal reflections of the family reveal what made this KAIZEN™ Insight Tour so different.

For João Pragosa, representing the first generation, the journey was an investment with a long-term return. Looking back on decades of entrepreneurship, his conclusion was striking:

“I should have come to Japan 30 years ago.”

He reflected that many investments made over the years may have delivered a lower return than the learning from this journey. The Japanese focus on waste reduction, rules, and respect for society left a particularly strong impression.

For Catarina Pragosa, representing the second generation, the journey was closely connected to the idea of legacy. The purpose of traveling together was not simply to introduce the third generation to Japan, but to give them an experience that could shape how they see the world and, one day, the responsibility of leadership.

For her, KAIZEN™ became more than a management methodology. She observed that organization, cleanliness, discipline, and Continuous Improvement work when people take responsibility themselves – and that small actions, consistently repeated, create long-term results.

Her reflection captures the essence of the journey:

“Companies can be inherited; values, however, have to be lived.”

And then there is the third generation. At just twelve years old, Carmo Sousa summarized her learning in remarkably straightforward terms: patience, punctuality, organization, cleanliness, 5S, and hard work.

Her favorite experience was a visit focused on mobility, motorsports, and traffic safety, but her biggest takeaway went much further: the need to prepare companies for the future so they can remain successful over the years and across generations.

From Continuous Improvement to Legacy

The journey gave three generations a shared reference point for leadership, responsibility, and long-term thinking – from reflecting on decades of building a business to shaping and preparing its future.

It showed how Continuous Improvement can become part of a legacy – not simply by passing on a company, but by passing on the values, behaviors, and mindset that allow the next generation to keep improving it.

Perhaps that is one of the most sustainable expressions of KAIZEN™: giving the next generation the mindset to keep asking how tomorrow can be made a little better than today.

For more information about our KAIZEN™ Insight Tours, visit our website:
KAIZEN™ Insight Tours in Japan.

Kaizen Institute, Ltd.
Bahnhofplatz
6300 Zug, Switzerland
pr@kaizen.com
www.kaizen.com