A quote from the first paragraph of _Conversations on Community Organization in Asia: Saul Alinsky Meets with the Asian Committee on Community Organization in Manila, June 1971_ (Chicago: Institute on the Church in Industrial Society, 1972) from Mike Miller's archives:
"A year before his death in June 1972, Saul Alinsky, the U.S. community organizer, made a trip to Asia. This was to be his first, and only time, to be in the Asian region. His purpose was to survey the work being done by the churches in community organization. His itinerary took him to Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines."
Later Alinsky notes, "They were not as terrified of my presence in Japan as those in Hong Kong." :)
The editor notes that Alinsky "he gives priority to Japan and the Philippines." And he actually talks a lot about Japan in this dialogue. I've never taken the time to read it carefully.
So Alinsky did did visit Japan. ACCO actually brought in Tom Gaudette first in 1970. There are a range of documents about organizing in Asia in the Gaudette archives at Loyola Marymount. I have copies of some of them, but haven't really looked at them in any detail.