In 1947, Dr. Deming was asked to go to Japan and help the Government prepare for a census. While he was there, he met several statisticians and businessmen deeply concerned about the state of their country's industrial base, which was in a shambles after the War.
The Japanese were desperate both to revive their industries and to change their reputation as makers of junk, and asked help of anyone they could. Dr. Deming told them that they could become an important economic force by applying SPC to their manufacturing processes.
Three years later, in 1950, Dr. Deming was invited back to Japan to give a series of seminars on SPC to members of the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). At the first seminar, Dr. Ishikawa introduced Dr. Deming to 21 of the country's top industrialists, including the heads of Nissan, Sony, Toyota and Mitsubishi.
The rest,as they say, is history...