[Education DX] Tackling Challenges in the Automotive Maintenance Industry with "AI Education." Oyamagakuen Introduces AI Instructor System for International Students
Koyamagakuen Educational Foundation has introduced an AI instructor system, provided by DOU Co., Ltd., for international students. As part of education DX, they are leveraging AI education to solve challenges in the automotive maintenance industry and foster human resources by overcoming language barriers.
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- 📰 Published: April 7, 2026 at 02:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 6, 2026 at 17:30
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 7, 2026 at 00:18 (6h 48m after Collected)
Oyamagakuen introduces an AI instructor and career passport to develop international students' 'practical Japanese skills for the workplace,' simultaneously streamlining classes, reducing teacher workload, and enabling immediate contribution after employment. DOU Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Tatsuya Ishibe) announces that Koyamagakuen Educational Foundation has decided to introduce an 'AI Instructor (Teaching Assistant)' aimed at developing 'practical Japanese skills for the workplace' among international students, as well as a 'Career Passport' to accumulate learning history. This initiative aims to support Japanese language acquisition for smooth participation in specialized classes and to enable international students to become immediate assets in the workplace. It provides individually optimized Japanese language instruction and practical conversation practice utilizing AI. The system is designed for smartphone access, allowing students to learn anytime, making individually optimized learning opportunities available to all students, even in automotive vocational schools with increasing numbers of international students.
■ Background: Worsening labor shortage and the challenge of 'impractical' Japanese skills.
The automotive maintenance industry continues to face a severe labor shortage, and international students are expected to be valuable future contributors. It is a crucial mission for educational institutions to cultivate 'high-quality human resources' who can perform tasks safely and accurately as immediate assets in the workplace after graduation, and to supply them to the industry. However, the following structural challenges have become apparent in actual educational settings and workplaces after employment.
Challenge 1: Discrepancy between 'reading and writing' and 'communication'.
Even if international students can read kanji for specialized terms like 'mechanic,' there are cases where they don't understand the actual 'meaning of the words,' leading to difficulties in understanding on-site instructions and acting appropriately. 'Being able to read' and 'understanding' are completely different abilities, and this discrepancy directly leads to mismatches after hiring and risks of accidents in the workplace.
Challenge 2: Stagnation of class progress due to skill disparity.
In an environment where one teacher instructs many students, if there are students who do not understand basic Japanese expressions (e.g., 'look at the blackboard,' 'clean up'), the class comes to a halt, hindering overall progress and potentially lowering the motivation of more advanced students.
Challenge 3: Aging teachers and labor shortage.
The automotive maintenance industry as a whole is experiencing an aging workforce and labor shortage, and in educational settings, there are limits to traditional one-on-one instruction reliant on manpower.
■ Background: Worsening labor shortage and the challenge of 'impractical' Japanese skills.
The automotive maintenance industry continues to face a severe labor shortage, and international students are expected to be valuable future contributors. It is a crucial mission for educational institutions to cultivate 'high-quality human resources' who can perform tasks safely and accurately as immediate assets in the workplace after graduation, and to supply them to the industry. However, the following structural challenges have become apparent in actual educational settings and workplaces after employment.
Challenge 1: Discrepancy between 'reading and writing' and 'communication'.
Even if international students can read kanji for specialized terms like 'mechanic,' there are cases where they don't understand the actual 'meaning of the words,' leading to difficulties in understanding on-site instructions and acting appropriately. 'Being able to read' and 'understanding' are completely different abilities, and this discrepancy directly leads to mismatches after hiring and risks of accidents in the workplace.
Challenge 2: Stagnation of class progress due to skill disparity.
In an environment where one teacher instructs many students, if there are students who do not understand basic Japanese expressions (e.g., 'look at the blackboard,' 'clean up'), the class comes to a halt, hindering overall progress and potentially lowering the motivation of more advanced students.
Challenge 3: Aging teachers and labor shortage.
The automotive maintenance industry as a whole is experiencing an aging workforce and labor shortage, and in educational settings, there are limits to traditional one-on-one instruction reliant on manpower.