KOBASHI Monozukuri Standard Seminars Brought Monozukuri Know-How to startups in Vietnam and Thailand
In July 2026, Leave a Nest Co., Ltd. and KOBASHI HOLDINGS Co., Ltd. successfully held the KOBASHI MONOZUKURI STANDARD 2026 seminars for the first time in Vietnam and Thailand, expanding the program to two new Southeast Asian startup ecosystems.
Following seminars held in Malaysia and Singapore in 2025, the program expanded to Vietnam and Thailand in 2026. The two seminars brought together founders, researchers, and members of the local innovation ecosystems to learn about the transition from prototype to mass production and discuss how Japanese monozukuri principles can be applied to the development and scaling of deep-tech businesses.
About KOBASHI MONOZUKURI STANDARD
As Southeast Asia’s deep-tech ecosystem continues to grow, startups developing hardware technologies increasingly face challenges beyond developing an innovative prototype. Moving from prototype to commercial-scale production requires founders to address reproducibility, production design, quality assurance, supplier coordination, documentation, anvd many other practical issues that can become major barriers to growth.
KOBASHI MONOZUKURI STANDARD was established by Leave a Nest together with KOBASHI HOLDINGS to help bridge this gap by sharing practical manufacturing knowledge and the philosophy of Japanese monozukuri with deep-tech entrepreneurs.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Date: Saturday, 11 July 2026
- Time: 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM
- Venue: Sentry C (15 Lê Thánh Tôn, Sài Gòn, Hồ Chí Minh 70000, Vietnam)
Bangkok, Thailand
- Date: Saturday, 18 July 2026
- Time: 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM
- Venue: 10th floor, Chaloem Rajakumari 60 Bldg. (Chamchuri 10), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.
KOBASHI MONOZUKURI STANDARD SEMINAR in VIETNAM
The 2026 regional series started with our first Kobashi Monozukuri Seminar in Vietnam on 11 July 2026. 39 attendees from local startups, local manufacturing SMEs and universities came to the venue at Sentry C in Ho Chi Minh City. The seminar was led by Ms. Haruka Sakurai of Leave a Nest, with Mr. Shojiro Kobashi, the fourth-generation President and CEO of KOBASHI HOLDINGS, joining the participants in person. Drawing on KOBASHI’s long history and experience, Mr. Kobashi introduced the thinking behind monozukuri and engaged directly with the local startup community.
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Left: Mr.Shojiro Kobashi exclusively giving his lecture and know-how to the audience
Right: Mr.Hai Ho from Alterno sharing his experience working with Japanese monozukuri
The seminar also featured Mr. Hai Ho, Founder and CEO of Alternō, as an alumni speaker. Alternō is a Vietnamese deep-tech startup developing sand-based thermal energy storage technology. Mr. Ho spoke about the company’s engagement with Japan, including its experience with KOBASHI, collaboration with Kikuchi Seiki, and the establishment of Alternō Japan in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture. Rather than focusing only on technical progress, he reflected on how these experiences influenced the company’s approach to product development, scaling, and working with Japanese partners.
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Participants are actively discussing with the speakers about implementing monozukuri in Vietnam.
Questions from participants throughout the seminar developed into lively exchanges with the speakers. Several attendees also approached Mr. Kobashi directly to learn more about opportunities to engage with KOBASHI in Japan.
Group photo of the speakers and participants
KOBASHI MONOZUKURI STANDARD SEMINAR in THAILAND
One week later, the program moved to Bangkok for its first seminar in Thailand on 18 July 2026 inviting 21 attendees from startups and universities. The Thailand session was led by Dr. Kihoko Tokue of Leave a Nest Co Ltd. Although Mr. Shojiro Kobashi was unable to join in person, he opened the seminar with a video message welcoming and encouraging the participants.
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Left: Mr.Shojiro Kobashi’s delivering welcoming messages to the participants
Right: Dr.Tokue’s delivering the seminar
The seminar also featured Dr. Pichaya Pattanasattayawong, CEO of Cleantech and Beyond Co., Ltd.,as an alumni speaker. Cleantech and Beyond is a university spin-off startup developing Digital Temperature Indicators, or DTIs. The company has participated in several projects with Leave a Nest to explore market opportunities in Japan and visited a KOBASHI factory in Okayama Prefecture last year.
Dr. Pichaya shared his company’s long monozukuri journey, the lessons he learned from visiting the factory, and how the experience influenced the company’s approach to its product research and development.
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Left: Dr.Pichaya, CEO of Cleantech and Beyond Co., Ltd, sharing his experience in monozukuri
Right: A participant is sharing his opinion to the discussion
Each section included a Q&A session. Participants raised several questions, leading to active discussions on how monozukuri principles could be applied to their company and in Thailand. Several startups also expressed interest in visiting Japan and meeting Mr. Kobashi.
Group photo of the speakers and participants
What’s Next? Three companies were selected to go to KOBASHI HOLDINGS in Okayama on September 15th to discuss further manufacturing collaboration on site with KOBASHI engineers. There will be future opportunities on December 9th 2026 and March 23rd 2027.
Additionally, following the successful seminars in Vietnam and Thailand, the program is scheduled to continue its journey in Southeast Asia, with another seminar scheduled on 26 August 2026 at the Center of Garage, Cyberjaya, Malaysia,
> register here for the Malaysia seminar here: https://global.lne.st/KOBASHIAugust
For inquiries, please contact us at: [email protected]