FLN Co-develops 'Education Voucher' Platform with Itami City, Launching in April: Supporting Children's Learning and Experience through Digitalization
Future Link Network (FLN) and Itami City have jointly developed a SaaS platform for managing education vouchers. The system, officially launching in April 2026, digitizes the application and settlement of coupons to support children's extracurricular activities, reducing burdens for all stakeholders.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 9, 2026 at 18:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 9, 2026 at 09:30
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 21, 2026 at 02:41 (281h 10m after Collected)
Future Link Network Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture; Representative Director: Takeharu Ishii; hereinafter "FLN"), which has a vision of regional revitalization, has concluded an agreement with Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture, regarding the manufacturing and service provision of a management and operation platform for the "Itami City Children's Extracurricular Activities Support Project."
Triggered by the conclusion of this agreement, we have developed a SaaS-type platform that seamlessly manages the application, issuance, use, and settlement of education vouchers (electronic coupons). This aims to ensure opportunities for diverse out-of-school learning and experiences for children who cannot obtain such opportunities due to their families' economic reasons. The distribution of electronic coupons began on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
In addition, on Monday, April 6, 2026, Itami City Mayor Shinya Nakata and FLN Representative Director Takeharu Ishii exchanged views. Discussions were held on various issues facing local governments, including providing experience opportunities for children who will lead the future.
## Initiatives
With the introduction of the "Extracurricular Activities Voucher System" set out in the Itami Mayor's policy speech for FY2025, we have constructed a Web platform that realizes the smooth and low-burden operation of this system.
This system is designed to digitize the complex administrative processes of electronic coupons issued by local governments, bringing benefits to all parties involved.
- Users (Parents): Can easily apply via smartphone, receive and use electronic coupons equivalent to 8,000 yen per month (in the case of Itami City) from their My Page through to payment, and also make 2D barcode payments on-site.
- Businesses (Extracurricular Classrooms): Various local businesses such as cram schools, piano classrooms, swimming schools, and programming classrooms can participate. Complicated settlement work is also completed on the system, supporting early monetization.
- Local Governments: By digitally managing everything from applicant eligibility verification to coupon issuance and the creation of payment data for classrooms, the operational burden on staff is significantly reduced. It realizes transparency in budget execution and visualizes policy effects based on data.
[FLN's Strengths and the Scalability of this Project]
This system was jointly developed in accordance with actual administrative workflows based on the agreement with Itami City. This "Itami Model" originating from the field is provided as a SaaS type that can be flexibly customized according to the budget scale of the local government and the characteristics of the measures, giving it the potential for horizontal expansion to local governments nationwide in the future.
## Exchange of Views between Itami Mayor and FLN Representative Director
During the meeting on Monday, April 6, 2026, topics related to the development and provision of the management and operation platform for the "Itami City Children's Extracurricular Activities Support Project" were touched upon, and policy-making based on the challenges of the experience opportunity gap and local circumstances was discussed once again.
Triggered by the conclusion of this agreement, we have developed a SaaS-type platform that seamlessly manages the application, issuance, use, and settlement of education vouchers (electronic coupons). This aims to ensure opportunities for diverse out-of-school learning and experiences for children who cannot obtain such opportunities due to their families' economic reasons. The distribution of electronic coupons began on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
In addition, on Monday, April 6, 2026, Itami City Mayor Shinya Nakata and FLN Representative Director Takeharu Ishii exchanged views. Discussions were held on various issues facing local governments, including providing experience opportunities for children who will lead the future.
## Initiatives
With the introduction of the "Extracurricular Activities Voucher System" set out in the Itami Mayor's policy speech for FY2025, we have constructed a Web platform that realizes the smooth and low-burden operation of this system.
This system is designed to digitize the complex administrative processes of electronic coupons issued by local governments, bringing benefits to all parties involved.
- Users (Parents): Can easily apply via smartphone, receive and use electronic coupons equivalent to 8,000 yen per month (in the case of Itami City) from their My Page through to payment, and also make 2D barcode payments on-site.
- Businesses (Extracurricular Classrooms): Various local businesses such as cram schools, piano classrooms, swimming schools, and programming classrooms can participate. Complicated settlement work is also completed on the system, supporting early monetization.
- Local Governments: By digitally managing everything from applicant eligibility verification to coupon issuance and the creation of payment data for classrooms, the operational burden on staff is significantly reduced. It realizes transparency in budget execution and visualizes policy effects based on data.
[FLN's Strengths and the Scalability of this Project]
This system was jointly developed in accordance with actual administrative workflows based on the agreement with Itami City. This "Itami Model" originating from the field is provided as a SaaS type that can be flexibly customized according to the budget scale of the local government and the characteristics of the measures, giving it the potential for horizontal expansion to local governments nationwide in the future.
## Exchange of Views between Itami Mayor and FLN Representative Director
During the meeting on Monday, April 6, 2026, topics related to the development and provision of the management and operation platform for the "Itami City Children's Extracurricular Activities Support Project" were touched upon, and policy-making based on the challenges of the experience opportunity gap and local circumstances was discussed once again.