On October 5, 2005, the Project Management Professionals Certification Center (PMCC) and the Japan Project Management Forum (JPMF) combined to legally form the Project Management Association of Japan (PMAJ). PMAJ activities commenced November 2005.
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JPMF was a member-driven non-profit organization for project management practitioners. JPMF was founded in December 1998 as a division of the Engineering Advancement Association of Japan (ENAA) to promote project management in Japan. Its mission was to establish a national center of excellence for project management with the following objectives:
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To advance professionalism and individual and organizational capability of project management in Japan by uniting those who practice project management, advocate increased business profitability and productivity through managing by projects, teach and research project management and provide methodologies, technologies and tools for project management. |
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To help enhance the social and industrial recognition of the project management discipline and project management practitioners. |
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To provide forums for matters that concern project management. |
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To cooperate with the worlds project management community for cross-fertilization and global advancement of the project management profession and discipline. |
JPMF promoted the following project management (PM) activities:
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Offering educational courses in PM |
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Supporting monthly meetings in Tokyo and Osaka for presenting special topics related to PM |
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Publishing JPMF Journal |
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Conducting special seminars related to PM |
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PMCC was a non-profit organization established in April 2002.
“Project and Program Management for Enterprise Innovation (P2M)” was started in 1999 and developed over three years by the Engineering Advancement Association of Japan (ENAA) with funds provided by a research grant from the Japanese Government Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). P2M is now highly regarded in the world. In addition to promoting P2M, PMCC aimed to educate and train project management practitioners and foster public recognition of the various project management activities from numerous private and public enterprises. It contributed to strengthening international competitiveness in the industry and developing vital economic and social support, by offering project management practitioners a certification system, training courses and a means for spreading project management knowledge.
For the purpose stated above, PMCC performed the following:
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Issuing PM standards and publications |
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Conducting seminars for PM Certification |
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Proctoring the PM Certification examination |
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Approving and registering the PM Certification examination |
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Performing activities to interface with overseas PM organizations and scientific entities |
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Other activities necessary to achieve the center’s purpose |
The project management certification system provided by PMCC consists of the following four levels of certification (from highest to lowest): Program Management Architect (PMA), Project Manager Registered (PMR), Project Management Specialist (PMS) and Project Management Coordinator (PMC).
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| 1. | Managerial technique was playing an important role in Japanese industries, requiring more promotion of PM. |
| 2. | The education and training needs to PM practitioners were rapidly expanding. |
| 3. | In order to support the PM practitioner’s overall lifecycle, the new Project Management Association is expected to conduct a wide range of high quality activities based on the aggregated knowledge and personal network of both organizations inside and outside of Japan. |
In July 2005, both organizations’ members approved the merger. The new organization, called Project Management Association of Japan, launched after joint preparations were completed by both organizations.
The cumulative number of successful applicant of the P2M certification exam at the end of fiscal year 2021 is as follows;
PMC 3,830
PMS 6,159
PMR 99
