Japanese businessman hopes to put smiles on faces of Vietnamese children

Motivations on changing physical education classes

When Morii Seigo, a Japanese businessman, first came to Vietnam in 2014, he fell in love with the country at first sight. During his working mission, Seigo had the opportunity to attend physical education classes taking place at elementary schools, upon which he discovered that local students were not very interested in participating in the exercises.

“The physical education classes here often take place in a small space and they are held in a short period of time. In addition, the curriculum was not interesting enough to attract students. I thought I would do something to support the students,” he recalled.

Seigo later suggested the introduction of Mizuno Hexathlon, a Japanese style method for schoolchildren which seeks to combine physical fitness and basic motion skills. The programme has been deployed throughout many countries worldwide and has gone on to cultivate great success.  

“The most important thing is to make children interested in physical exercises and to change the content of the curriculum,” he said.

“By introducing this approach, we would like to make a difference by maximizing the students’ activity time and movement lessons, as well as enhancing their capability through our physical activity support kits,” Seigo explained, “In addition, we would also like to improve teaching quality and effectiveness.”

This project not only provides sports equipment to schools, but also offers new teaching methods to students to enjoy.

 “When we introduced this method, we thought that the biggest change was that it enhanced children’s physical activities. We attached pedometers to the children’s feet while they were playing games and found that the number of steps they went increased by four times,” Seigo noted.

Bringing smiles to local students

All things are difficult before they become easy. The Japanese businessman stated that he did not think the method would be adopted so effectively at the beginning of its introduction. But beyond his expectations, the project has received an array of positive responses from both teachers and students. Indeed, Vietnamese students are filled with great excitement at discovering the ins and outs of physical exercises, while their teachers also feel more satisfied in these classes.

“A difficulty I have faced when introducing this new method is that we come from two different places and have different starting points. But the more we have kept practicing, the more we have understood each other and found a common voice altogether,” elaborated Seigo.

“I still remember the day when I saw them smile, I almost burst out crying because the ultimate objective of the project that is bringing smiles for school students have already been achieved. I am happy that the project has removed hurdles and is now going on to make progress,” stated the businessman.

Having been living in Vietnam for nearly a decade now, the Japanese executive has had the chance to travel the length and breadth of the country, meeting different people, exploring different cultures, and sampling different delicacies along the time. For him, what he has experienced is unforgettable.

“2023 will mark 10 years of my stay in Vietnam. I have gone through lots of enjoyable experiences. No matter what the experiences are, they are invaluable to me,” confided Seigo.

“In my eyes, Vietnam is a promised land, though many challenges are lying ahead. Vietnamese people show great qualities of future masters and have high passion to build a prosperous nation, and I believe they will do,” said the Japanese businessman.