Ibaraki Prefecture Decides to Hire 5 School Principals, Including Private Sector Professionals, Through En-Japan's 'Social Impact Recruitment Project'

En-Japan Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Chairman and President: Michikatsu Ochi) implemented Ibaraki Prefecture's 'Social Impact Recruitment Project' (https://www.enjapan.com/) in August 2025. Through an open recruitment process for 'principals' at integrated junior and senior high schools and other institutions, five individuals, including those from the private sector, were selected from 672 applicants. Below, we introduce comments from Mr. Yanagihashi, Superintendent of the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education, and the newly appointed principals.

Comment from Mr. Tsuneki Yanagihashi, Superintendent, Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education

Ibaraki Prefecture has implemented public recruitment for principals at 17 schools, including 13 integrated junior and senior high schools, IT Mirai High School, Tsukuba Science High School, Yuki Daiichi High School, and Ishige Shiho High School. A total of 9 principals and vice-principals, from both the private sector and teaching backgrounds, are developing unique initiatives based on new ideas that flexibly respond to changing times through school management.

At integrated junior and senior high schools, various educational activities are being developed with an emphasis on inquiry-based learning, science education, and international education within a planned and continuous six-year education program. Furthermore, IT Mirai High School and Tsukuba Science High School are fostering human resources who can thrive in the IT field in the future by cultivating practical information utilization skills and the ability to analyze and solve various societal problems. This fiscal year, we have also announced our commitment to enriching support for foreign students and others, building an educational system where students who do not speak Japanese as their mother tongue can also demonstrate their individual abilities, thereby nurturing human resources who will contribute to the local community. We will continue to work on creating unique schools that meet the needs of the new era.

This fiscal year, we received applications from many individuals with a strong interest in education in our prefecture, and we were able to recruit individuals with strong motivation for school reform and leadership.

The prefecture will continue to promote the creation of attractive and distinctive schools to foster human resources who will lead the next generation.

Comments from New Appointees

■ Mr. Shoji Ozawa (Scheduled to be assigned to Ibaraki Prefectural Ishige Shiho High School)

For approximately 40 years at JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), I have collaborated and cooperated with people in developing countries for a better life, and I want to leverage that experience of supporting their growth in this school setting. My goal is to achieve 'four-way satisfaction' in school management, where 'students, teachers, families, and the community' can learn, empathize, and coexist together. I view the presence of students with foreign roots not as a problem for the school or community, but as a 'shared asset,' and I aim to build a system where diverse people can coexist and cohabit, treating the entire community as one learning environment. I position the dissemination of this system to all regions in Japan with students of foreign roots and Japanese students as my life's greatest dream.

Based on the belief of 'leaving no one behind,' cultivated through support for developing countries, I am strongly motivated to transform differences among people into excellent opportunities for complementarity and energy, and to create an environment where everyone can support each other. I will take on the challenge of high school management with this resolve.

<Career History>
1987: Joined Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Served as Deputy Director of the Peru Office, Head of the Planning Division of the Headquarters' Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers Secretariat, and then as Head of the Dominica/Cuba Office and Chile Branch.
Currently serves as a Regional Partnership Advisor at the JICA Tsukuba Center.

Our Support Services for This Project

In addition to announcements via press releases, special pages, and recruitment websites created using 'engage,' we supported attracting applicants through web advertising and various job search sites. By utilizing job sites with different target audiences—'Middle Career Change,' 'AMBI,' 'En-Tenshoku,' and 'engage'—we comprehensively delivered job postings to the target audience. Furthermore, we supported the selection process by providing the video interview tool 'Video Interview,' the applicant tracking system 'Hirehub,' and the reference report 'ASHIATO,' as well as holding 'Principal Public Recruitment Online Briefings,' thereby facilitating appropriate matching with job seekers.

Past Appointment Records

・Dentsu Creative Director
・Kao Marketer
・PwC Consulting Consultant
・NHK Director
・Former National Civil Servants (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Cabinet Office, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications), etc.

A YouTube program 'Impactors' featuring Mr. Fukuda, who became a private sector principal through En-Japan's 'Social Impact Recruitment Project' and is currently the principal of Mitsukaido Daiichi High School and its affiliated junior high school, has been released.

'Social Impact Recruitment Project' Challenging to Solve Social Issues Through Recruitment https://www.enjapan.com/

YouTube program 'Impactors' featuring the success of appointees through the project is now available on the official YouTube channel of the 'Social Impact Recruitment Project'!
https://www.youtube.com/@socialimpact_en

Press Release Download

d725-1181-e2ffca881b8cd6e10b9e8474fb54a572.pdf

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En-Japan Inc. Public Relations
E-mail:en-press@en-japan.com
TEL：03-3342-6590
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