NIJIN Academy, an alternative school for truant students, will open its hybrid attendance "Osaka Nagai Campus" on May 7, 2026.

NIJIN Academy, an alternative school for truant students operated by NIJIN Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Koto-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Tatsuro Hoshino), will open a new campus, "NIJIN Academy Osaka Nagai Campus," in Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, on Thursday, May 7, 2026.

This school, with the keyword "a farm as a classroom," aims to develop children's ability to live richer lives by engaging with the community and society through experiential learning in agriculture and food.

Features of Osaka Nagai Campus: Experiential Learning on a Farm

The Osaka Nagai Campus, which is opening this time, will offer "hybrid learning" that combines online and real-world activities. It aims to create a safe and comfortable place for children who say, "I don't want to go back to school, but I want to learn in a real-world setting."

The setting for the Osaka Nagai Campus is an experiential farm called "Ajiwai Farm," which is a classroom located about a 10-minute walk from JR Nagai Station and Nagai Station on the Midosuji Subway Line. This farm uses organic farming methods and does not use pesticides during cultivation. We are creating an environment where children can be themselves, incorporating experiences of touching the soil, touching life, and learning through food into their daily lives.

What this school values is an environment where children can "feel safe here" and "be themselves."

The focus is not solely on returning to school, but on fostering children's ability to choose their own future.

◾️Curriculum: "Learning agriculture and food by growing, harvesting, cooking, and selling seasonal vegetables themselves"

⚫︎Decide which vegetables to grow (learn about vegetables, plan)

Children decide which vegetables to grow according to the season and plan the cultivation, such as when to sow fertilizer and seeds.

⚫︎Work in the field (connect with nature, move your body)

Various tasks are performed, such as tilling the soil with a hoe, spreading fertilizer, planting seeds and seedlings, watering, weeding, pest control, pruning, and harvesting. Let's move our bodies while feeling the smell and texture of the soil and leaves, and the colors and sounds of nature.

⚫︎Eat vegetables (food education)

Children will eat freshly harvested vegetables like tomatoes and corn whole, or cook and eat them.

They will experience the taste and aroma of fresh vegetables that can only be savored when eaten right after harvesting.

⚫︎Sell vegetables (learn from production to sales, community interaction)

⚫︎Observe living creatures in fields and rice paddies

⚫︎Various other experiences are planned (rice planting, rice harvesting, riding a tractor, etc.)

By combining learning in the metaverse with real activities such as agriculture and nature experiences, we will realize a new form of learning that fosters children's self-esteem and social skills.

Furthermore, we value learning through connections with the community and people, aiming for a society where truancy does not end as a "problem" but transforms into "possibility." Through experiences of touching the soil, touching life, and thinking and acting for themselves, we foster "the power to live." From the real field of agriculture, we will disseminate new forms of education.

Example of a day's schedule

・10:00 Home PE (Metaverse) ・10:30 Class meeting (plan today's work) ・11:00 Start work (farm work, cooking, etc.) ・12:30 Lunch ・13:30 Self-paced learning (farm work, nature observation, vegetable sales, etc.) ・14:30 Cleanup, tidying up, reflection

Through daily activities, children choose learning according to their interests and develop the ability to act proactively.

Message from the Campus Director / Thoughts on Opening the School

My desire to "reduce the number of people who dislike vegetables, even by one, through agriculture" led me to start agricultural experiences and rental farms.

Utilizing my nutritionist qualifications, I offer experiences centered on "agriculture and food education," where participants grow and harvest seasonal vegetables, then cook and eat them on the farm. Among the children, some have learned about vegetables through these experiences and can now eat vegetables they once disliked, saying things like, "I didn't know vegetable leaves had this shape!" or "I used to hate carrots, but the carrots I grew myself were delicious!"

The farm uses "organic farming," a method that does not use pesticides during vegetable cultivation, so you can see various creatures such as earthworms, grasshoppers, dragonflies, frogs, and caterpillars.

Since there are rice paddies next to the fields, we also offer rice planting and rice harvesting experiences. There are many creatures living in the rice paddies too!

It's a "farm where you can savor with all five senses" the smell and texture of the soil and leaves, the taste of vegetables, and the colors and sounds of nature.

Through interaction with local people and nature, we will support children in discovering their potential and nurturing "seeds of learning" that lead to the future, even if they sometimes make mistakes.

And together with parents and local residents, we want to create a classroom where we can celebrate their growth.

Campus Overview / Admission Information

□Campus Overview

【Name】NIJIN Academy Osaka Nagai Campus

【Target】Elementary school 1st grade to high school 3rd grade

【Opening Days】Once a week (Thursday)

※Schedule may change.

【Location】〒558-0001

4-2 Dairyo, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture

【Opening Date】May 7, 2025 (Thursday) - *Correction: The title states 2026, this might be a typo in the original text.*

【Capacity】10 students (first-come, first-served. Please be aware.)

【Features】Experiential learning on a farm

【Tuition】Details available on the official website

▶Campus HP→https://academy.nijin.co.jp/classroom/academy-osakanagai/

▶Campus Instagram→https://www.instagram.com/nijin.academy.osaka

▶NIJIN Academy Official Website→https://www.nijin.co.jp/academy

□Admission Information

Please participate in an trial session first. We will provide admission guidance during that session.

【Trial Session Application Form】

Online attendance trial information session here→https://www.jicoo.com/t/nijin/e/academy

NIJIN Academy

The number of elementary and junior high school students who are truant is increasing year by year, reaching a record high of 346,482 in 2024. Creating places where children can learn with peace of mind and choose diverse ways of learning has become a major issue that society as a whole must address.

NIJIN Academy, an alternative school for truant students established by NIJIN, is attracting attention as a "new learning option" that allows children to receive high-quality education online from home.

Since its opening in September 2023, over 500 students have enrolled, and more than 150 students have returned to school. Collaboration with local governments facing truant students has also begun, expanding into initiatives that support children's learning with various organizations.

Furthermore, children who regained their energy at the metaverse campus have expressed their desire to "continue learning at NIJIN Academy instead of returning to school." Currently, in addition to "online attendance" where students can learn from home, "hybrid attendance" combining it with "real classrooms" where students attend actual classrooms is being developed nationwide to meet the diverse needs of children.

An alternative school for truant elementary and junior high school students that opened in September 2023, with over 500 students enrolled from more than 36 prefectures nationwide. Since September 2024, it has also provided places for real-world learning, with 30 campuses currently open or planned. With "multilayered psychological safety," "interactive classes by top-tier teachers," and "child-led projects" as the pillars of its curriculum, it aims to create a future where not going to school does not lead to feelings of inferiority or guilt, and all children can have hope. As an alternative learning option to school, over 90% of students who wish to do so have obtained attendance recognition from their enrolled schools.

※As of August 2025

▶NIJIN Academy HP：https://www.nijin.co.jp/academy

NIJIN Co., Ltd.

"JAPAN EDUCATION COMPANY" with the philosophy of "Illuminating the nation through education," solving educational issues structurally. Feeling a national crisis due to too many children unable to express themselves in current schools, Tatsuro Hoshino, a former elementary school teacher, founded the company in April 2022 to make Japan a country where everyone can have "hope" in education. The company develops 13 mechanisms (businesses) that solve various educational problems such as truancy, teacher shortages, teacher work styles, and the ideal form of schools.

Company Name: NIJIN Co., Ltd.

Location: 2-5-5 Tokiwa, Koto-ku, Tokyo

Established: April 1, 2022

Representative: Tatsuro Hoshino

Business Activities: Education business that solves educational issues structurally (teacher training, truancy support, entrepreneurship support, educational events, after-school programs)

URL: https://www.nijin.co.jp/

Inquiries

For inquiries regarding this matter, please contact the email address below.

【Inquiries】nijin.academy.yokohamaizumi@gmail.com　Contact: Kyoko Sato