Co-op Mirai hosted the International Cooperative Education (ICE) summer internship program for two young students from University of Michigan (America) from June 11 to August 10 2016. The students were Pan Zijian and Ahn Sung-Joon.

The aim of the program was to provide the students with the opportunity to learn Japanese culture and the language through workplace experience and homestay.

The program started with a 2-day orientation at Co-op Mirai and JCCU respectively to learn about the social contribution of consumer co-ops, co-op product development and environmental measures.

The rest of the period, students were exposed to co-op business especially in store operation and the home delivery areas.

Below is a short introduction of the students impression about the program.

I’ve learned how integral consumer co-ops are to the community and how they confirm the safety of the elderly through their business (Ahn Sung-Joon).

I was really impressed by the strong focus on freshness, food quality and security of CO･OP Brand Products (Pan Zijian).