It was in May 2004 that retired restaurant manager Einosuke Sumitani first visited a career theme park called Kidzania in Mexico and saw children cheerfully engaged in jobs there.

Feeling strongly that it might be what Japanese children needed, he signed a licensing agreement with the Mexican company Kidzania de Mexico SA half a year later and opened Kidzania in Tokyo's Toyosu district in October 2006.

"Many children here have focused on cramming their heads with knowledge and they have little chance to interact with society. So many kids have no idea what they want to do in the future," Sumitani, 64, president and chief executive officer of Kids City Japan K.K., said in a recent interview with The Japan Times.