High School Students Transform Local "Unsold" Products: Practical Class to Deliver Regional Products Nationwide via TikTok Shop Begins

Commerce Factory Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director: Shunpei Okamoto) has partnered with "Kagoshima Joho High School" in Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, to launch the practical class "Discovery Kagoshima Project," utilizing TikTok Shop.

This class is a region-linked "SNS sales and practical curriculum" where students in Kagoshima Prefecture discover local products themselves and sell them using TikTok Shop. Beyond mere learning, it aims to foster next-generation digital talent and revitalize the regional economy through the real business experience of "selling."

## Background of the Project Launch

Kagoshima Prefecture boasts the 2nd highest agricultural output and 5th highest fishery production in Japan, with a specialization coefficient of 4.8 in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, making it one of the leading primary industry regions in the country.

*Source: Overview of Prefectural Economic Accounts for Reiwa 5 (2023)

However, it faces the challenge of "good products not being fully sold," with the real growth rate of the food manufacturing industry remaining at △16.6%. Furthermore, a prefectural survey (7th Prefectural Monitor Survey Results for Reiwa 5) showed that while over 80% evaluate the quality of prefectural products as "good," only about 10% frequently purchase them. Among those who do not purchase, 51% responded that they "don't see them in stores."

As a solution to these challenges, TikTok Shop has recently garnered significant attention.

While traditional e-commerce has a structure of "search needs = finding and buying what you want," TikTok Shop is expanding as a new e-commerce model that creates "serendipitous encounters = opportunities to desire" through short videos and live streams, thereby generating demand itself.

On the other hand, through its past e-commerce support, Commerce Factory has realized that many businesses face the challenge of "products having high inherent appeal but not selling out because their value isn't communicated effectively." In actual support scenarios, there are numerous cases where "how to communicate" rather than "what to sell" significantly impacts sales.

Therefore, in this class, students will leverage their unique sensibilities and communication skills to deliver the charm of Kagoshima to the entire nation through practical initiatives, thereby addressing these challenges.

Okamoto presenting the project details to teachers and students.

## Features of the Class Content

This class will commence on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, and will be held every Wednesday from 13:35 to 15:25 (two 50-minute periods) for a total of 13 sessions. It is designed to be practice-oriented rather than lecture-centric.

Students will be divided into teams of 4-5 people and will independently execute all processes required to "sell" a product, such as:

- Product selection (seller development)
- Planning and production of TikTok content (videos/live streaming)
- Product registration and sales operations
- Data analysis and improvement (PDCA cycle)

## About the Instructors

Members of Commerce Factory will participate as instructors in this class.

- Shunpei Okamoto (Representative Director, Commerce Factory Co., Ltd.)
After graduating from university, he joined the current Rakuten Group, Inc. As an e-commerce consultant, he supported a wide range of businesses. He then became a director at Commerce Japan Inc., where he achieved numerous successes, including the first Rakuten Shop of the Year award and exceeding 100 million yen in monthly sales within one year of opening. He also handled mall expansion for listed companies. He subsequently resigned from his directorship at Commerce Japan and assumed the role of Representative Director at Commerce Factory Co., Ltd., with the vision of "Update E-Commerce."
He is currently active in updating the e-commerce industry, focusing on e-commerce support services and "EC Otaku," Japan's most enthusiast e-commerce community.

- Seiya Misumi (Executive Officer, Commerce Factory Co., Ltd.)
He built an e-commerce division handling "standardized products" without price advantages from scratch, growing it to an annual sales scale of 1 billion yen in six years through unique strategies. Currently, he leverages his overwhelming breakthrough power as the head of new business promotion.
He excels at building business models that overturn market norms with an "aggressive approach free from conventional thinking."

- Fukamaru (Active TikTok Creator)
After graduating from university, he joined the current Leverages Co., Ltd. As a human resources consultant, he supported a wide range of businesses in recruitment. He then managed a job-hunting media using Instagram at Carry Inc. Subsequently, he established a TikTok LIVE agency and grew live streaming events he produced to an annual sales scale of 150 million yen. In 2023, he moved to Kagoshima Prefecture. He is active in contributing to numerical improvements for local companies in areas such as customer acquisition, recruitment, and sales promotion, focusing on SNS operation support and his own media, "Fukamaru Bocchimeshi."

- Sukuwo (Active TikTok Creator)
An active TikTok Shop creator. After starting TikTok Shop, within 3 months...