Rakusei Junior and Senior High School (Viator Gakuen Educational Foundation) (Location: Kita-ku, Kyoto City; Chairman: Shinji Shimada; Principal: Megumi Oda; hereinafter "Rakusei"), has had its inquiry program "Rakusei Forge" selected for the 2026 fiscal year grant program (Category 1: Leading Educational Programs) by the Mitsubishi Mirai Ikusei Foundation (Location: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Chairman: Shunichi Miyanaga). This selection includes a three-year financial grant (84 programs were selected out of a total of 436 applications across all categories). In response, Rakusei will officially launch the "SDGs Frontier Project," a socially connected program in collaboration with the Panasonic Group (Panasonic Corporation, Panasonic Operational Excellence Co., Ltd.), as a regular curriculum for second-year high school students.

What Rakusei's Inquiry Aims For: Building a "Foundation for Life," Not Rushing into Academia

The "Comprehensive Inquiry" time (hereinafter "Inquiry") at Rakusei is not solely aimed at providing early experience in university research. Through Inquiry, students acquire the skills of the "basic inquiry process": finding their own questions, setting challenges for solutions, gathering information, organizing and analyzing it, and finally summarizing and presenting it. By applying this process to their own life design, students aim to develop the ability to discover what they "like" and who they "want to become," and to give form to those aspirations. The school believes that Inquiry can support students in building the "foundation for their lives."

Acquiring Basic Inquiry Process Skills: Students will hone their "thinking muscles" through a multi-layered six-year cycle of scrutinizing information, posing questions, collaborating with others, and implementing solutions in society. This is a universal skill.

Inquiry as a Result of Future Design: Students who master this "framework" at Rakusei will ignite their own aspirations (their "heart's engine"). As a result, if necessary, they will be able to autonomously pursue advanced university-level research.

Rakusei Forge: A "Forge" that Surpasses Traditional Inquiry and Shapes Aspirations

"Rakusei Forge" is a six-year system that fuses the Christian values of "empathy for others' pain" and "loving one another," which have been the school's foundation since its establishment, with the cultivation of modern agency (proactiveness).

Foundation Period (Grades 7-8): Understanding the World Cultivates empathy for others and teaches the methods for scrutinizing and gathering information.

Enrichment Period (Grades 9-10): Encountering the World Expands social perspectives through "authentic encounters" with university students and professionals.

Development Period (Grades 11-12): Co-creating with the World Tackles "unanswerable problems" in the real world and elevates them into social problem-solving capabilities.

SDGs Frontier Project: Learning to Create "Our Own Answers." A Product Planning Inquiry Program in Collaboration with Panasonic

This project has been newly incorporated this year as a social connection experience within the Development Period to tackle "unanswerable problems" in the real world. Partner companies provide themes they wish to solve, and students will consider solutions to these themes, while also being mindful of their contribution to the SDGs. They will learn the process of creating "their own answers" by leveraging the proactiveness, intellect, creativity, and communication skills cultivated during the Foundation and Enrichment periods. The school strongly supports student growth through a traditional three-party support system (school, parents, and alumni), and this project will be supported in the same way.

Social Connection Experience: Students will engage in a thorough social connection experience, going beyond mere idea generation for themes presented by companies. This includes utilizing generative AI, creating prototypes, receiving multi-layered feedback from experts, and culminating in a general vote at the school festival.

Three-Party Support: Not only the school, but also the alumni association (OB) and parent-teacher association, with their strong networks, act as "stakeholders" supporting corporate collaboration, powerfully backing students' "co-creation with the world."

In 2026, approximately 210 second-year high school students will tackle the mission presented by Panasonic Corporation's Beauty & Personal Care Business Division: "Challenge Product Planning for Beauty Appliances that Appeal to High School Students – with SDGs –". The initiative will proceed as follows:

Basic Marketing Lecture: Students will attend a lecture on basic marketing knowledge delivered by current Panasonic marketing employees.

Problem Setting: Students will divide into groups to discuss and set challenges, including defining target demographics for the theme, delving deeper into the problems to be solved, and establishing policies for investigation and interviews to find solutions.

Information Gathering: Information gathering will be conducted based on each group's proactiveness, including interview surveys with target demographics, desktop research, and in-store investigations.

Organization and Analysis: Each group will organize and analyze information, connecting it to product planning that solves the challenges based on their insights. Employees will serve as mentors, offering online consultations and accompanying their activities.

Summary and Presentation: Groups will create presentation materials and hold an interim presentation session to receive feedback from employees and further refine their plans. Additionally, through class representative competitions and a final presentation, students will receive professional commentary from employees and summarize their achievements and learning as a whole grade.

The results of this initiative will be publicly displayed at the school festival from September 18 (Fri) to 20 (Sun), 2026.

Message from Principal (Megumi Oda)

This adoption is a recognition that the education based on the Catholic spirit of "service to others," which our school has cultivated, is the foundation for leadership that can navigate an unpredictable future. In collaboration with first-class partners like the Panasonic Group, and with our proud alumni and parents, I am confident that students will discover their "likes" and "desired selves" while tackling "unanswerable problems," and ignite their "heart's engine" to change society.

Message from SDGs Frontier Project Class Instructor (Kazuki Okamoto)

When I took charge of the comprehensive inquiry time for second-year high school students, I wanted to implement a unique Rakusei inquiry that leverages Rakusei's diverse connections. This project perfectly aligns with that aspiration. Panasonic Group is providing high-quality lessons from a real-world perspective, and students are engaging in their inquiry activities with great seriousness. I hope you will see the results of our exploration for inquiry suitable for Rakusei's Development Period at the grade-level exhibition during the school festival.

Message from Project Leader (Atsushi Tanabe)

Rakusei's inquiry is a place to implement the "heart's engine" that will enable students to stand on their own feet and serve society amidst the turbulent waves of an uncertain future. With this adoption, I hope students will gain the ability to live their own lives by confronting real-world challenges, transcending existing frameworks like early university research. From Kyoto, we will disseminate a "leading model" that fosters the ability to forge their own future with that experience as their weapon.

Future Outlook: From Kyoto to the Nation, a Leading Model for Educational Reform

Moving forward, we will expand collaborations with local companies in Kyoto and fully establish this program as a regular curriculum over a three-year plan. We will widely disseminate the results of this initiative to society, aiming for it to become a leading model for "agency (proactiveness) cultivation" in Japan.

About the Mitsubishi Mirai Ikusei Foundation "Category 1"

Established in 2019 as part of the Mitsubishi Group's 150th-anniversary commemoration, the foundation aims to foster next-generation human resources who will shape Japan's future. "Category 1" specifically supports grant programs for "programs that drive the 'heart's engine' implemented in schools such as high schools." Excellent initiatives like "inquiry learning," where students proactively pose questions and collaboratively tackle problem-solving, receive financial and supportive assistance for a period of, in principle, three years.

"Rakusei Forge" is an advanced educational program selected through this rigorous screening process. (Foundation Official Website: https://www.mmfe.or.jp/)

About the Panasonic Group

The Panasonic Group consists of Panasonic Holdings Corporation, six major business companies, and other affiliated companies in Japan and overseas. Founded in 1918 by Konosuke Matsushita as Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works, the company underwent name and organizational changes, including to Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. and Panasonic Corporation, after 1935. On April 1, 2022, it transitioned to a holding company system with Panasonic Holdings Corporation as the holding company. In pursuit of realizing "an ideal society where both material wealth and spiritual richness are abundant," the group currently contributes to solving social issues globally by providing technologies, products, and solutions in a wide range of business areas, including devices that support AI infrastructure (batteries, electronic components, industrial devices, etc.), solutions that support social operations (B2B solutions, air quality and air conditioning, cold chain, electrical equipment, lighting, etc.), and the smart life domain centered on home appliances. Panasonic Holdings Corporation's consolidated sales for fiscal year 2025 are projected to be 8.487 trillion yen. Website: https://holdings.panasonic/jp/

About Rakusei Junior and Senior High School

A boys' junior and senior high school founded in Kyoto in 1952 by the Catholic Viatorian Community. Based on holistic education that aims for balanced growth of "mind, head, and body," it upholds the tradition of valuing "service to others" based on Christian values.

Location: 33 Komatsubara Minamimachi, Kita-ku, Kyoto City

Number of Students: 1,244 (Junior High: 598, Senior High: 646)

Number of Faculty and Staff: Approximately 100

Graduation Policy: "Individuals who maintain a resilient and rich heart, collaborate with others, and serve to make the world a better place."

Curriculum Policy: "Emphasizing global reach, real-world experience, and developmental coexistence, while ensuring an open future based on solid academic foundations."

2026 Academic Year University Admissions Results (Preliminary): University of Tokyo: 7 (3 current students), Kyoto University: 58 (42 current students), Osaka University: 18 (13 current students), Kobe University: 19 (12 current students), Hokkaido University: 10 (5 current students), National and Public University Medical Faculties: 39 (22 current students).

Website: https://www.rakusei.ac.jp/

[Inquiries Regarding This Matter]

Viator Gakuen Educational Foundation Rakusei Junior and Senior High School

Inquiry 담당자 (Inquiry Representative): Tanabe Email: atsushi.tanabe@rakusei.ac.jp

広報担当 (Public Relations Representative): Ogimoto Email: eri.ogimoto@rakusei.ac.jp

Phone: 075-466-0001

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