Three Years Since a Former Public Teacher's First Step: Around 60 Companies and 90 People Gather. SPOT TEACHER Demonstrates a 'Co-Education Space' for Businesses and Government in Education
Fukuoka-based Kyoiku Palette held a 'SPOT TEACHER' event gathering diverse professionals to discuss educational involvement. The initiative connects public schools with various industries, signaling a shift toward collaborative education.
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Kyoiku Palette Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Fukuoka City) held a co-education event on February 24, 2026, at the Daimyo Conference (Fukuoka City), marking the third anniversary of the 'SPOT TEACHER' initiative that connects schools and society.
Despite being a closed event, it attracted participants from various backgrounds including companies, organizations, government, and creators. Business owners and practitioners from diverse fields who have been involved in school education—such as IT, infrastructure, construction, food service, tourism, and creative industries—gathered under one roof.
It was an opportunity to showcase that a 'co-education space' involving adults from multiple industries is beginning to emerge from an initiative started by a former public school teacher.
This initiative is an extension of relationships cultivated through involvement with schools. The establishment of a space where diverse entities can discuss education, starting from public schools—which are often said to be 'closed' or 'difficult for external collaboration'—indicates that a new change in the relationship between education and society is taking place.
Event Highlights
The event started with an opening video summarizing the trajectory of classes held so far.
It was a time to visualize the accumulation of encounters and learning born in the educational field as a single continuous flow.
Participants from various fields gathered at the venue, fostering cross-positional interactions. Through talk sessions, sharing future prospects, and networking, it became a time where diverse relationships intersected with education as the starting point.
Talk Session Overview
Session Theme
'Why do we continue to be involved in education as an organization and as management?'
The speakers included Masanori Hashimoto, Representative Director and CEO of Nulab Inc.; Kazunari Taguchi, Representative Director and CEO of Borderless Japan Corporation; Masahiro Koga, Executive Director of the Fukuoka Prefecture SME Executives Association; and Yukari Matsushita, Representative Director of Kyoiku Palette Co., Ltd.
All of them are in positions where they have personally been involved in school education and have practiced how to engage as a company.
The discussion began with their personal experiences of how they came to have touchpoints with schools and education, prompted by their encounters with Matsushita and their involvement so far, and expanded into the question of 'why companies get involved in education.'
Mr. Taguchi, reflecting on his respected mentor and questioning societal views on teachers, stated, 'Rather than just criticizing, society should stand in front of children,' emphasizing corporate responsibility in education. He also noted, 'Children sometimes look up to adults they meet casually,' showing the significance of diverse adults being involved in schools.
Mr. Hashimoto explained that there is value in employees themselves speaking in front of children, and that the process of verbalizing and conveying their own work and company is also a learning experience for the employees. Therefore, he has set up a system where not only himself but his employees visit schools, promoting educational involvement as an organization.
He also touched upon the importance of creating learning together, based on respect for teachers. Furthermore, an anecdote about how words spoken by a teacher are remembered for a long time showed the potential for involvement in schools to impact one's subsequent life.
Mr. Koga, drawing on his experience connecting companies and schools over many years, shared a grassroots perspective: 'The first class often doesn't go perfectly, but it's important to adapt to the developmental stage of the children.' He also mentioned the importance of a movement where the entire region supports education, under the concept of making 'Fukuoka an Education Valley.'
Matsushita shared her view, based on her field experience as a former teacher and her practices thus far, that the people involved in education can be more diverse.
While those who can be involved in contexts like inquiry-based learning or entrepreneurship are sometimes limited, SPOT TEACHER has valued a format where people from various industries and professions can participate, without being restricted to specific themes.
As a result, it was shown that the room for involvement in education from respective positions is expanding.
What emerged through the discussion is the change that the subjects involved in education are beginning to expand beyond teachers to include companies and society.
By proceeding while taking questions from the venue in real-time, it became a place where speakers and participants exchanged opinions across their respective positions.
The sight of corporate executives and practitioners seriously discussing education indicated a sign of new relationships, different from how education has been up to now.
Speaker's Voice
Masahiro Koga, Executive Director of the Fukuoka Prefecture SME Executives Association
'When I went up to the stage to start the panel talk, I could see that the venue was full. And many of them were executives. In past school education events, I had never seen so many corporate people...'
Despite being a closed event, it attracted participants from various backgrounds including companies, organizations, government, and creators. Business owners and practitioners from diverse fields who have been involved in school education—such as IT, infrastructure, construction, food service, tourism, and creative industries—gathered under one roof.
It was an opportunity to showcase that a 'co-education space' involving adults from multiple industries is beginning to emerge from an initiative started by a former public school teacher.
This initiative is an extension of relationships cultivated through involvement with schools. The establishment of a space where diverse entities can discuss education, starting from public schools—which are often said to be 'closed' or 'difficult for external collaboration'—indicates that a new change in the relationship between education and society is taking place.
Event Highlights
The event started with an opening video summarizing the trajectory of classes held so far.
It was a time to visualize the accumulation of encounters and learning born in the educational field as a single continuous flow.
Participants from various fields gathered at the venue, fostering cross-positional interactions. Through talk sessions, sharing future prospects, and networking, it became a time where diverse relationships intersected with education as the starting point.
Talk Session Overview
Session Theme
'Why do we continue to be involved in education as an organization and as management?'
The speakers included Masanori Hashimoto, Representative Director and CEO of Nulab Inc.; Kazunari Taguchi, Representative Director and CEO of Borderless Japan Corporation; Masahiro Koga, Executive Director of the Fukuoka Prefecture SME Executives Association; and Yukari Matsushita, Representative Director of Kyoiku Palette Co., Ltd.
All of them are in positions where they have personally been involved in school education and have practiced how to engage as a company.
The discussion began with their personal experiences of how they came to have touchpoints with schools and education, prompted by their encounters with Matsushita and their involvement so far, and expanded into the question of 'why companies get involved in education.'
Mr. Taguchi, reflecting on his respected mentor and questioning societal views on teachers, stated, 'Rather than just criticizing, society should stand in front of children,' emphasizing corporate responsibility in education. He also noted, 'Children sometimes look up to adults they meet casually,' showing the significance of diverse adults being involved in schools.
Mr. Hashimoto explained that there is value in employees themselves speaking in front of children, and that the process of verbalizing and conveying their own work and company is also a learning experience for the employees. Therefore, he has set up a system where not only himself but his employees visit schools, promoting educational involvement as an organization.
He also touched upon the importance of creating learning together, based on respect for teachers. Furthermore, an anecdote about how words spoken by a teacher are remembered for a long time showed the potential for involvement in schools to impact one's subsequent life.
Mr. Koga, drawing on his experience connecting companies and schools over many years, shared a grassroots perspective: 'The first class often doesn't go perfectly, but it's important to adapt to the developmental stage of the children.' He also mentioned the importance of a movement where the entire region supports education, under the concept of making 'Fukuoka an Education Valley.'
Matsushita shared her view, based on her field experience as a former teacher and her practices thus far, that the people involved in education can be more diverse.
While those who can be involved in contexts like inquiry-based learning or entrepreneurship are sometimes limited, SPOT TEACHER has valued a format where people from various industries and professions can participate, without being restricted to specific themes.
As a result, it was shown that the room for involvement in education from respective positions is expanding.
What emerged through the discussion is the change that the subjects involved in education are beginning to expand beyond teachers to include companies and society.
By proceeding while taking questions from the venue in real-time, it became a place where speakers and participants exchanged opinions across their respective positions.
The sight of corporate executives and practitioners seriously discussing education indicated a sign of new relationships, different from how education has been up to now.
Speaker's Voice
Masahiro Koga, Executive Director of the Fukuoka Prefecture SME Executives Association
'When I went up to the stage to start the panel talk, I could see that the venue was full. And many of them were executives. In past school education events, I had never seen so many corporate people...'