Japan's First* Educational Model Where High School Students "Learn by Working": Niigata's Lightship High School Expands to Three New Regions Within the Prefecture
Lightship High School in Niigata, Japan, is expanding its unique "learn-by-working" model to three new regions. This model, which won a 2025 Good Design Award, combines high school education with three years of paid on-the-job training and project-based learning in local communities. The expansion aims to build an educational infrastructure across the prefecture, allowing more students to gain practical skills and make informed career choices.
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- 📰 Published: April 1, 2026 at 19:00
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*As a support school for correspondence high schools that provides three years of paid on-the-job training (OJT) while students are enrolled in high school (according to our own research).
Lightship High School, operated by LIGHTSHIP Inc. (Headquarters: Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture; CEO: Masashi Matsumoto), will expand its educational support area from April 2026, opening new satellite bases in the Kashiwazaki and Tokamachi/Uonuma areas. This initiative aims to develop an environment across multiple regions within the prefecture where high school students can learn through engagement with their local communities.
Our academy received the 2025 Good Design Award for its unique educational model, which allows students to participate in on-the-job training (OJT) as paid internships at local companies and engage in community revitalization Project-Based Learning (PBL) while concurrently earning their high school diploma.
1. Phased Expansion of Educational Bases from Joetsu to the Entire Prefecture
Lightship High School opened in April 2025 and has since focused its educational activities primarily in the Joetsu area. With this expansion, new satellite bases will be established in the Kashiwazaki and Tokamachi/Uonuma regions, creating a system to provide educational support in multiple areas within the prefecture.
Furthermore, aiming for an April 2027 opening, a "Ken-o Satellite Preparation Office" will be established to prepare for expansion into the Ken-o region (including Tsubame and Sanjo cities). The preparation office will focus on building partnerships with local companies and conducting public relations activities, such as student recruitment.
This expansion will extend educational opportunities, previously limited to the Joetsu region, to other parts of the prefecture, promoting an educational environment where students learn through community engagement. The new satellites will work closely with specialized local organizations familiar with the area's characteristics to create an environment where the entire community supports the students' development.
■ New Bases
|
Base/Address |
Target Area |
Partner Organization/Contact |
Main Areas of Cooperation |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Kashiwazaki Satellite (Share Office Be, 2-7-42 Higashihoncho, Kashiwazaki City, Niigata) |
Kashiwazaki City, Kariwa Village, etc. |
NPO法人 aisa Representative Satoshi Mitobe |
Planning and management of PBL activities in the Kashiwazaki area, student support |
|
Tokamachi/Uonuma Satellite (asto, 91-1 Nishifukuro-cho, Tokamachi City, Niigata) |
Tokamachi City, Minamiuonuma City, Uonuma City, Tsunan Town, Yuzawa Town, etc. |
General Incorporated Association Niigataken Representative Makoto Otsuka |
Planning and management of PBL activities in the Tokamachi/Uonuma area, student support |
|
Ken-o Satellite Preparation Office (Inside "KaNaU", AEON Ken-o Store, 3-65 Idomaki, Tsubame City, Niigata) |
Tsubame City, Sanjo City, Mitsuke City, Kamo City, etc. |
Kiraboshi Co., Ltd. CEO Aya Ito |
Planning and management of PBL activities in the Ken-o area, student support |
2. Satellites Supporting Learning in Each Region
The newly established "satellites" are crucial activity hubs for students to deeply engage with the local community and enhance their practical learning. One of Lightship High School's key features, "Community Revitalization PBL (Project-Based Learning)," fosters non-cognitive skills such as problem-solving and leadership by giving students experience in solving local issues through business methods.
Each satellite will support student growth through the following functions:
|
Hub for Community Revitalization PBL |
It serves as a base for PBL activities, where teams plan and prepare projects with professional support from local organizations. |
|---|---|
|
Learning and Meeting Space |
Provides an environment for online learning, individual meetings with dedicated mentors, and self-study. |
|
Base for Regional OJT Collaboration |
Coordinates and supports students' OJT by collaborating with partner companies near the satellite. |
Furthermore, for the academy's unique vocational curriculum and school-wide events, an online system and the "Learning Base" in Joetsu are utilized to ensure that all students across all areas receive a uniformly high-quality education.
3. A Unique Educational Model Combining OJT and PBL
The hallmark of Lightship High School's education is the "Lightship-style Dual System."
While aiming to obtain their high school diploma, students engage in community revitalization PBL with their peers and undertake OJT at local companies. By working as part-time employees at the same company for about three days a week over three years, they acquire not only practical skills but also fundamental and versatile abilities as working professionals. This deepens their self-understanding, enabling them to make more informed decisions about their post-graduation paths.
Currently, approximately 100 companies are registered as OJT partners, offering about 120 job-based curriculums. The first class of 23 students is engaged in OJT across a wide range of industries, including construction, food service, IT, and advertising. With the expansion of support bases, we plan to offer an even more diverse range of OJT curriculums over a wider area.
4. Development as an Educational Infrastructure
With this area expansion, the Lightship-style Dual System will become an educational model available in the Joetsu, Chuuetsu, and Uonuma regions.
Lightship High School aims to build an educational infrastructure that nurtures young people through the entire community, collaborating with local organizations and companies via its satellites.
By centering high school learning on practical experience at local companies, we are implementing a new form of education that creates:
-
Acquisition of the foundational vocational skills needed in various industries and occupations.
-
A sense of self-efficacy gained by recognizing one's role in the workplace and fulfilling its responsibilities.
-
A broader range of career choices resulting from self-discovery through practical experience.
We are putting this new form of education into practice.
5. A Comment from the Head of School
Masashi Matsumoto
Head of School, Lightship High School
LIGHTSHIP Inc.
There is still a gap between learning in high school and living in society through a profession. Lightship students learn in a real-world social setting as members of a company, aware of their responsibility for the compensation they receive, while honing their professional skills and enhancing their fundamental abilities as members of society. This is an educational opportunity that cannot be provided by existing high school work experience, internships, or exploratory learning programs in collaboration with regions and companies. We want more young people in the prefecture to experience the value of this drastic transformation in high school education. It is with this desire that we have expanded Lightship's operational area. Together with our partner organizations at each base, we aim to create the new standard for high school education.
6. Future Outlook
As of now, 31 students are scheduled to enroll for the 2026 academic year, indicating growing interest from both within and outside the region.
LIGHTSHIP Inc. will continue to develop an educational infrastructure that supports the growth of young people in collaboration with local communities, through an educational model that connects "work experience" with "learning."
The Ken-o satellite will open in April 2027. We will continue to create an environment where even more young people can access this educational model.
LIGHTSHIP High School Official HP
LIGHTSHIP High School Instagram Page
https://www.instagram.com/lightship_joetsu?igsh=MWhieTR0MW9sMWF0bA==