Cluster Provides VR Vocational Training Program to Mine Rehabilitation Program Center

Cluster, Inc. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Naoto Kato; hereinafter "Cluster") has begun providing a vocational training program utilizing VR content at the "Mine Rehabilitation Program Center" (under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice) in Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, commissioned by the Correctional Education Business Group of Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "ShoPro"). This project is designed as an 8-year long-term contract, and an on-site experiential session was held between February and March 2026.

Project Objectives

The Mine Rehabilitation Program Center operates under the belief that "realizing the rehabilitation and preventing the recidivism of inmates leads to protecting the safe and secure lives of citizens." In its Phase 2 operation starting from April 2025, the center is trialing new education and vocational training utilizing ICT, working to provide modern occupational skills and support smooth social reintegration through training that simulates real-life and employment situations.

Furthermore, based on the idea that "the time inmates spend in the facility makes them 'Mine citizens'," the center provides numerous opportunities to contribute to solving local issues, aiming to realize "recidivism prevention x community coexistence."

In line with the center's policies, this project was implemented as a vocational training program utilizing 3D spatial technology.

Program Overview

1. "World Craft" Program: Skill Acquisition and Regional Understanding via 3D Space Creation
This program utilizes cluster's "World Craft" feature, which can be used without coding, allowing inmates to create 3D spaces themselves. They can learn the basics of 3DCG and digital twin technology through hands-on experience. By recreating the atmosphere of the "Toyotamae District," which once flourished as a coal mining town, the program is designed to lead to an experience of understanding and broadcasting the local charm.

2. VR Gas Cutting Training Replicating a Real Factory Environment
This is a vocational training program where inmates can experience actual work while staying inside the facility. In this project, with the cooperation of local company MIW, their factory was point-cloud scanned and recreated in a 3D space. A training content environment accessible by multiple people simultaneously was built, allowing repeated practice of procedures and safety checks for iron plate processing (gas cutting). It is an attempt to acquire basic skills without using actual machinery, expanding the possibilities for employment support in the region.

* MIW cooperated in the creation of the training environment.

Implementation Overview

Location: Mine Rehabilitation Program Center (Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture)
Client: Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Co., Ltd., Correctional Education Business Group
Contract Period: 8 years (long-term project)
On-site Trial: Conducted between February and March 2026

VR technology is increasingly popular as a learning environment where hazardous working conditions can be safely experienced and repeated, especially in manufacturing, healthcare, and defense sectors. Cluster is accelerating its B2B expansion by applying the virtual space development and operational technology cultivated in the entertainment field to solve industrial and social issues, making this project a crucial practical example.

Comments

Ikuhiro Otsuki, General Manager, Public Service Business Department, Public Business Division, Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Co., Ltd.
Since the opening of the Mine Rehabilitation Program Center in 2007, our company started a public-private partnership correctional facility operation business and is currently involved in operating five penal institutions nationwide. Valuing our management philosophy of "Edutainment" even within prison walls, we strive to provide high-quality services as a private enterprise. The "XR (Cross Reality) Skills Course" implemented as part of this effort is the first vocational training trial in a penal institution.
In this training, with the cooperation of Cluster, Inc., XR skills are acquired through metaverse creation themed around local history and culture. Through this, a vital goal is for inmates to realize their connection with society and their own roles, fostering an awareness as a member of society. Moving forward, together with everyone at Cluster, we will challenge new possibilities for social reintegration support.

Takushi Kameya, General Manager, Business Co-creation Department, Business Development Division, Cluster, Inc.
The value of virtual spaces lies in delivering experiences that are difficult in reality, safely and repeatedly. In this project, we provided an environment for repeated practice of actual tasks through VR gas cutting training, while also preparing an entry point to digital technology through the experience of building 3D spaces by hand using World Craft. I would be delighted if the technology Cluster has cultivated becomes a means to support steps toward social reintegration.

Future Outlook

Based on the knowledge gained from this project, Cluster will further expand the industrial application domains of 3D spatial technology, such as co-creation with skill training, administrative, and public institutions.