COMPASS Inc. Begins Offering a New Free Program in Collaboration with Tamasu Co., Ltd., the Company Behind the "Butterfly" Table Tennis Brand, on its "SPARKE" Inquiry-Based Learning Library for Elementary and Junior High Schools
COMPASS Inc. has launched a new, free inquiry-based learning program on its "SPARKE" platform for elementary and junior high schools. Developed in collaboration with Tamasu Co., Ltd., the company behind the "Butterfly" table tennis brand, the program allows students to learn about the secrets of craftsmanship by developing a table tennis racket. The program is linked to the school curriculum and aims to foster critical thinking, judgment, and expression by deepening students' understanding of Japanese manufacturing.
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- 📰 Published: April 14, 2026 at 20:00
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COMPASS Inc. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Jun Sato; hereinafter "COMPASS") has begun offering a new free inquiry-based learning program and accepting applications in collaboration with Tamasu Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Suginami-ku, Tokyo; President: Takako Osawa), the company behind the "Butterfly" table tennis brand, on its "SPARKE" inquiry-based learning library for elementary and junior high schools.
Through its "Qubena" e-learning portal and AI-based teaching materials, COMPASS supports individually optimized learning of knowledge and skills in academic subjects. Underlying this is the company's founding desire to create learning time that fosters children's "power to create the future." To cultivate this power, the company believes it is important to develop not only knowledge but also the ability to think, judge, and express, as well as a motivation for learning and humanity, and considers that these can be deepened particularly through inquiry-based learning.
To provide inquiry-based learning that can be undertaken in the time created by Qubena to as many children as possible, COMPASS has been co-developing and offering inquiry-based learning programs for elementary and junior high schools in collaboration with various companies and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions.
This time, we are offering an inquiry-based learning program titled "Learn the Secrets of Craftsmanship and Try Developing a Table Tennis Racket" in collaboration with Tamasu Co., Ltd., the company behind the "Butterfly" table tennis brand. This program is available through the "SPARKE" inquiry-based learning library for elementary and junior high schools.
About the newly added program
In this program, students will learn about the secrets and procedures of Tamasu Co., Ltd.'s table tennis racket development and develop an awareness of craftsmanship. By experiencing the entire process of racket making, they will deepen their understanding of the effort and ingenuity at the forefront of Japanese manufacturing.
A feature of this program is that it is linked to curriculum units, making it easy to incorporate into regular classes. It provides an inquiry-based learning experience that allows students to practice the process of developing their thinking, judgment, and expression skills as part of integrated studies, utilizing knowledge from units such as "Our Lives and Industrial Production" from the 5th-grade social studies curriculum, "Materials and Processing Technology" from middle school technology, and "Forces and Their Effects" from 1st-year middle school science.
Program Name
Learn the Secrets of Craftsmanship and Try Developing a Table Tennis Racket
(Tamasu Co., Ltd.)
Program Overview
Learn the secrets and procedures of Tamasu's table tennis racket development and develop an awareness of craftsmanship. By experiencing the entire process of racket making, deepen understanding of the effort and ingenuity at the forefront of Japanese manufacturing.
Target Grade/Subject/Unit
★ 5th Grade Social Studies: Our Lives and Industrial Production
★ 4th Grade Elem. to 3rd Grade JHS Special Activities: Career Formation and Self-Realization for Each Individual, etc.
★ 4th Grade Elem. to 3rd Grade JHS Integrated Studies: Organizing Issues, Summarizing & Expressing
5th Grade Math: Averages
5th & 6th Grade Arts & Crafts: Handicrafts
Junior High Technology: Materials and Processing Technology
1st Year JHS Science: Forces and Their Effects
Teaching Material Composition
Video materials: Explanation of the theme by the company representative
Worksheets: Worksheets for tackling tasks in class
Teacher's manual: Program time allocation, learning content and student activities, teaching points, example phrases, etc.
Example materials for the program in collaboration with Tamasu Co., Ltd.
*Content and design are subject to change.
About Applying
◆ Application Period: April 14, 2026 - March 31, 2027
◆ Target Audience: Elementary and junior high school teachers nationwide
◆ Eligible Grades: 1st grade elementary school to 3rd grade junior high school
◆ Cost: Free
◆ Application:
Please apply using the application form on the program details page below.
*Membership registration for SPARKE is required for use.
https://sparke.jp/contents/tamas
◆ Inquiries about applications:
COMPASS Inquiry-Based Learning Program, info@compass-e.com
About SPARKE
URL: https://sparke.jp/
SPARKE is an inquiry-based learning library featuring various inquiry-based learning programs that can be used in elementary and junior high school classes. The programs provided are designed to foster the skills necessary for inquiry (thinking, judgment, expression, motivation for learning, and humanity) through a process where children think for themselves and derive solutions to problems that link curriculum units with real-world society. The programs are produced in collaboration with leading corporate partners in Japan and are offered free of charge to schools and teachers.
By registering as a member, you can view, download, and manage all published program materials for free.
Through SPARKE, COMPASS will continue to provide "inquiry-based learning" to foster children's "power to create the future," aiming to create unprecedented new learning experiences in public education.
◆ About Tamasu Co., Ltd.
URL: https://www.butterfly.co.jp/
Founded in 1950 by Hikosuke Tamasu, an All-Japan table tennis champion, with the desire to "create better table tennis equipment with his own hands," Tamasu Co., Ltd. is a comprehensive manufacturer of table tennis supplies.
In recent years, the company has gone beyond manufacturing and selling table tennis equipment. Under the slogan "Open the World," it aims to "make the world happier through table tennis" and is also focusing on promotional activities for the sport. It has been the official supplier for the Japanese men's and women's national teams since April 2025.
The brand name "Butterfly" embodies the sentiment, "If the players are the flowers, we want to be the butterflies that serve them." The quality, which embodies "Made in Japan," is popular in 198 countries and regions and is used by more than half of the players at the World Table Tennis Championships.
◆ About Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions
URL: https://www.shopro.co.jp/
Under the philosophy of "Edutainment," the company develops businesses centered on media and education.
In the education field, it leverages its long-standing expertise in operating preschools and correspondence courses to offer services to a wide range of generations. In recent years, it has been offering the online course "Shogakukan's Tankyu Gakushu®" (Inquiry Learning) to the general public for elementary school students. Since October 2024, it has also been providing the inquiry-based learning material "Shogakukan's Tankyu Gakushu®" as a public education package for elementary to high school students to educational institutions and local governments. Commissioned by Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City, it produced the "EXPO Education Program for High School Students," a public education inquiry-based material for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, which provided a unique local government "inquiry-based learning" experience focused on thinking about the "future society."
◆ About COMPASS
URL: https://qubena.com/
With the corporate mission "to create a new learning environment," COMPASS develops and provides the e-learning portal + AI-based teaching material "Qubena" and the inquiry-based learning library "SPARKE" for elementary and junior high schools.
As a pioneer in AI-based teaching materials, it released "Qubena" in 2016. Currently, it supports the individually optimized and independent learning of over one million children nationwide. In 2024, it began providing inquiry-based learning programs jointly with Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, which was officially released as the inquiry-based learning library "SPARKE" in 2026. Through the dual approach of academic and inquiry-based learning, the company is working to create a learning environment that fosters children's "power to create the future."
Through its "Qubena" e-learning portal and AI-based teaching materials, COMPASS supports individually optimized learning of knowledge and skills in academic subjects. Underlying this is the company's founding desire to create learning time that fosters children's "power to create the future." To cultivate this power, the company believes it is important to develop not only knowledge but also the ability to think, judge, and express, as well as a motivation for learning and humanity, and considers that these can be deepened particularly through inquiry-based learning.
To provide inquiry-based learning that can be undertaken in the time created by Qubena to as many children as possible, COMPASS has been co-developing and offering inquiry-based learning programs for elementary and junior high schools in collaboration with various companies and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions.
This time, we are offering an inquiry-based learning program titled "Learn the Secrets of Craftsmanship and Try Developing a Table Tennis Racket" in collaboration with Tamasu Co., Ltd., the company behind the "Butterfly" table tennis brand. This program is available through the "SPARKE" inquiry-based learning library for elementary and junior high schools.
About the newly added program
In this program, students will learn about the secrets and procedures of Tamasu Co., Ltd.'s table tennis racket development and develop an awareness of craftsmanship. By experiencing the entire process of racket making, they will deepen their understanding of the effort and ingenuity at the forefront of Japanese manufacturing.
A feature of this program is that it is linked to curriculum units, making it easy to incorporate into regular classes. It provides an inquiry-based learning experience that allows students to practice the process of developing their thinking, judgment, and expression skills as part of integrated studies, utilizing knowledge from units such as "Our Lives and Industrial Production" from the 5th-grade social studies curriculum, "Materials and Processing Technology" from middle school technology, and "Forces and Their Effects" from 1st-year middle school science.
Program Name
Learn the Secrets of Craftsmanship and Try Developing a Table Tennis Racket
(Tamasu Co., Ltd.)
Program Overview
Learn the secrets and procedures of Tamasu's table tennis racket development and develop an awareness of craftsmanship. By experiencing the entire process of racket making, deepen understanding of the effort and ingenuity at the forefront of Japanese manufacturing.
Target Grade/Subject/Unit
★ 5th Grade Social Studies: Our Lives and Industrial Production
★ 4th Grade Elem. to 3rd Grade JHS Special Activities: Career Formation and Self-Realization for Each Individual, etc.
★ 4th Grade Elem. to 3rd Grade JHS Integrated Studies: Organizing Issues, Summarizing & Expressing
5th Grade Math: Averages
5th & 6th Grade Arts & Crafts: Handicrafts
Junior High Technology: Materials and Processing Technology
1st Year JHS Science: Forces and Their Effects
Teaching Material Composition
Video materials: Explanation of the theme by the company representative
Worksheets: Worksheets for tackling tasks in class
Teacher's manual: Program time allocation, learning content and student activities, teaching points, example phrases, etc.
Example materials for the program in collaboration with Tamasu Co., Ltd.
*Content and design are subject to change.
About Applying
◆ Application Period: April 14, 2026 - March 31, 2027
◆ Target Audience: Elementary and junior high school teachers nationwide
◆ Eligible Grades: 1st grade elementary school to 3rd grade junior high school
◆ Cost: Free
◆ Application:
Please apply using the application form on the program details page below.
*Membership registration for SPARKE is required for use.
https://sparke.jp/contents/tamas
◆ Inquiries about applications:
COMPASS Inquiry-Based Learning Program, info@compass-e.com
About SPARKE
URL: https://sparke.jp/
SPARKE is an inquiry-based learning library featuring various inquiry-based learning programs that can be used in elementary and junior high school classes. The programs provided are designed to foster the skills necessary for inquiry (thinking, judgment, expression, motivation for learning, and humanity) through a process where children think for themselves and derive solutions to problems that link curriculum units with real-world society. The programs are produced in collaboration with leading corporate partners in Japan and are offered free of charge to schools and teachers.
By registering as a member, you can view, download, and manage all published program materials for free.
Through SPARKE, COMPASS will continue to provide "inquiry-based learning" to foster children's "power to create the future," aiming to create unprecedented new learning experiences in public education.
◆ About Tamasu Co., Ltd.
URL: https://www.butterfly.co.jp/
Founded in 1950 by Hikosuke Tamasu, an All-Japan table tennis champion, with the desire to "create better table tennis equipment with his own hands," Tamasu Co., Ltd. is a comprehensive manufacturer of table tennis supplies.
In recent years, the company has gone beyond manufacturing and selling table tennis equipment. Under the slogan "Open the World," it aims to "make the world happier through table tennis" and is also focusing on promotional activities for the sport. It has been the official supplier for the Japanese men's and women's national teams since April 2025.
The brand name "Butterfly" embodies the sentiment, "If the players are the flowers, we want to be the butterflies that serve them." The quality, which embodies "Made in Japan," is popular in 198 countries and regions and is used by more than half of the players at the World Table Tennis Championships.
◆ About Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions
URL: https://www.shopro.co.jp/
Under the philosophy of "Edutainment," the company develops businesses centered on media and education.
In the education field, it leverages its long-standing expertise in operating preschools and correspondence courses to offer services to a wide range of generations. In recent years, it has been offering the online course "Shogakukan's Tankyu Gakushu®" (Inquiry Learning) to the general public for elementary school students. Since October 2024, it has also been providing the inquiry-based learning material "Shogakukan's Tankyu Gakushu®" as a public education package for elementary to high school students to educational institutions and local governments. Commissioned by Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City, it produced the "EXPO Education Program for High School Students," a public education inquiry-based material for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, which provided a unique local government "inquiry-based learning" experience focused on thinking about the "future society."
◆ About COMPASS
URL: https://qubena.com/
With the corporate mission "to create a new learning environment," COMPASS develops and provides the e-learning portal + AI-based teaching material "Qubena" and the inquiry-based learning library "SPARKE" for elementary and junior high schools.
As a pioneer in AI-based teaching materials, it released "Qubena" in 2016. Currently, it supports the individually optimized and independent learning of over one million children nationwide. In 2024, it began providing inquiry-based learning programs jointly with Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, which was officially released as the inquiry-based learning library "SPARKE" in 2026. Through the dual approach of academic and inquiry-based learning, the company is working to create a learning environment that fosters children's "power to create the future."