I grew up in a town called Andijan in eastern Uzbekistan. I attended an English cram school and took the TOEFL test, thinking about going on to university in the U.S. or Europe. One day I overheard an older student say, “I’m going to APU in Japan,” so I looked it up and found it was Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU).

The appeal of this university was that you could study entirely in English, and that not speaking Japanese would not be a problem. Studying in Japan hadn’t been on my radar, but I took the plunge, applied, and was accepted.

When I arrived in Japan, what surprised me first was how much more modern it was than I had imagined. There weren’t samurai walking around the streets! (laughs) At that time, the internet was hardly widespread in Uzbekistan, and information about Japan was limited.

At APU I met students with truly diverse backgrounds. I learned that Africa has more than 50 countries through my friends from Malawi, Kenya, and Tanzania whom I met there. It was also a big discovery for me to feel firsthand how perceptions of time and values can differ so much depending on the country and culture.

My connection with EIC (English Immersion Camp) marked the beginning of my relationship with KUMON. At this camp, where children spend two weeks using only English, I worked with Camp Leaders gathered from around the world and was able to experience an educational setting firsthand.

I still clearly remember how shocked I was when we visited a Kumon Center during EIC training and saw children learning independently. Even very young children, who could hardly carry a conversation, were silently progressing with their studies at their own pace. They didn’t lose concentration even when we foreigners were talking nearby. In that moment I felt this very environment was exactly what Uzbekistan needed.

— We hear you joined a Japanese manufacturer after graduating from university.

After graduation I joined a Japanese agricultural machinery manufacturer. In my work I was allowed to experience a wide range of departments—logistics, corporate strategy, marketing, new business, HR, and overseas sales—and I learned a great deal from Japanese corporate culture. Still, the scene I had witnessed in a Kumon Center as an international student and my desire “to be involved with education in my home country” remained deep within my heart.

Starting this fall, I’ve gone independent and founded a consulting company. I hope to be a bridge between Japan and Uzbekistan.

— So, your feelings toward the Kumon Method never faded.

When I was a Camp Leader at EIC (English Immersion Camp), I visited KUMON’s Osaka Headquarters. The fact that a commitment born from one father’s concern—Mr. Toru Kumon—had become an enterprise and spread across the world left me both amazed and deeply impressed.

When I was in charge of new businesses at the agricultural machinery manufacturer, I learned the “pain and gain” approach. Because there is a pain (a problem that needs solving), it connects to the desired future state. For example, when farmers are struggling with water shortages, you start by thinking how to make water easier to transport, build a business from there, and contribute to transforming the region into one where agriculture is easier to practice. KUMON likewise began from the feelings of a father worried about his child.

In 2008, I attended the KUMON 50th Anniversary Ceremony held at the Tokyo Dome. In attendance were Kumon Instructors from countries and regions all around the world. What surprised me there as well was that people whose native language is English could study not only math through the Kumon Method, but also English as their mother tongue with Kumon. I thought, “This is so wonderful, surely we should spread it in Uzbekistan too.”

Of the twenty students in my class at school in Uzbekistan, I was the only one who studied abroad in Japan. I was fortunate to have that opportunity, and I feel I have a role to contribute to my home country. Having come to Japan, I want to bring good things back to Uzbekistan and contribute to my country. That benefits Japanese companies, benefits my home country, and ultimately makes our global society better.

In a globalized world, even without spending thousands of hours on new research and development from scratch, we can laterally expand and effectively apply things that already deliver results and contribute that way. Right now, when I think about where to focus in education, the answer is KUMON.

What I want to say to children around the world is: “Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.” In the Kumon Method you start from easy problems and step up little by little. Along the way, without even noticing, you build up the feeling of “I can do it.” Through Kumon study you acquire a stance of “self-learning,” develop “concentration,” and learn “time management.”

I believe this learning applies to life as well. Everyone is a beginner at first. But you can move forward, little by little, steadily. Believe in that path and take one step at a time.

I’d also like to connect more with APU alumni who, like me, once served as Camp Leaders and became fans of KUMON.

I myself am still part way through my journey. Even so, I want to keep taking on challenges so that I can deliver “the freedom to learn” and “the power to choose one’s future” to children.