Our History

Shizenkan was founded based on the foundation of ISL (Institute for Strategic Leadership), the “whole-person” leadership educational institution, established in Tokyo, 2001. ISL is known for its all inclusive executive leadership training program for corporate executives. To date, nearly 1,500 senior-executives including many top managers at large companies have graduated from ISL programs.

Since ISL was founded, it has consistently appealed to the need for true leadership education beyond the traditional MBA. Shizenkan was established in 2017 to further develop this educational philosophy and approach used by ISL, with the bold idea of taking the Western-style MBA education model and evolving it to adapt for the future.

About ISL (NPO)

ISL is a holistic leadership and educational institution, its main goal is the education of individuals that prescribe to believe in social change, social innovation and the revitalization of Japan through the education of passionate and strong-willed leaders ready to initiate innovation, change, challenge tradition and whom combine creativity with high moral standards.

Hundreds of individuals, including businesspeople, leaders from various fields, university professors, and professionals, participate in its activity under the philosophy of “gift circulation”. Its executives include Chief Advisor/Chair Kakutaro Kitashiro (Counselor, IBM Japan), Director/Chairman Yasuchika Hasegawa (Chairman, Takeda Pharmaceuticals), Chairman Takashi Kawamura (Former Chairman, Hitachi, Ltd.), Yoshimitsu Kobayashi (Chairman, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings) and others.

The core activity is management training and leadership education for mid-level executives. ISL is well-known for its unique cutting-edge education philosophy and approach, adopting the know-how of Western professional education and actively incorporating history, philosophy, sociology, religious thought, natural sciences, et. cetera as well as using psychology and coaching for students’ self-reflection.

Together with its sister school, Kyushu-Asia Management School (President Koichi Hashida, Director of Kyudenko/ISL Director), it has produced more than 1,300 management leaders to date.

In addition, ISL organizes a wide range of activities such as the Whole-Person Leadership School (7DAYS program) targeted at university students with a high attentiveness to social problems; as well as the Social Innovator Koshien program for fostering and supporting social entrepreneurs and community entrepreneurs run in cooperation with 70 organizations and 300 volunteers nationwide from Hokkaido to Kyushu.