Shizuoka Prefecture Holds "FuJI #2 (Future Japan Innovator 2nd Term)" Achievement Report Session for High School Entrepreneurship Development Program

RePlayce Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Masahiro Yamamoto; hereinafter RePlayce), which develops career exploration services for junior and senior high school students, has been commissioned to operate the FuJI #2 (Future Japan Innovator 2nd Term) entrepreneurship development program for high school students, organized by Shizuoka Prefecture. On Friday, March 20, 2026 (public holiday), an achievement report session was held at the Shizuoka Prefectural Gender Equality Center Azalea, where 19 second-term students presented their business ideas, developed over approximately eight months of practical training. **The culmination of approximately 8 months of challenges by 13 teams** A wide range of themes were presented, from regional issues in Shizuoka to social inclusion, including "IZUscape," which focused on regional investment challenges and coexistence with travelers; "Aster," which aimed to provide LGBTQ support via social media; "RforU," which found new value in uniform reuse; "Inazuma," which proposed an electrician app for women; and "BioLac," which envisioned a sustainable business utilizing milk. The venue was repeatedly filled with applause as high school students passionately conveyed their ideas to adults in their own words. There were many impressive moments, such as judges praising the meticulous research skills of "SymLoop," which challenged waste resource recovery, and the entire venue being captivated by the passionate pitch of "DOD," which focused on childcare support for foreign parents. As a result of the judging, the Grand Prize was awarded to the "Inazuma" team, which proposed "Mimosa Denki," an app that matches female electricians with female clients. The Excellence Awards were given to the "DOD" team, which proposed "Omusubi," a childcare support service for foreign parents, and the "IZUscape" team, which proposed a tourism app for exploring Izu travel through experiences and senses. A winning student tearfully expressed her joy, saying, "I am truly happy to receive such a wonderful award. I am grateful to everyone who supported my research throughout this process. Thank you." **Judges' General Comments** Governor Yasutomo Suzuki commented, "I was deeply moved by the passionate and wonderful presentations. New businesses emerge from solving everyday problems. I hope you continue to be aware of problems and challenge yourselves." Other judges offered evaluations such as, "They accurately grasp familiar and social issues," "The overflowing passion from all teams was conveyed," and "All pitches showed local love, which is the most important element in business." They also noted the high participation of female students this year, remarking, "I felt the footsteps of diversity expanding in the startup industry." "BioLac," which proposed biodegradable plastics derived from milk, received positive feedback, with one judge saying, "That's a very good point of view." For "RMShouse," a multicultural co-living share house for foreign workers, a judge commented, "A wonderful presentation. Multicultural coexistence is an important issue, and reusing vacant houses is also a good idea." "IZUscape," an experiential tourism service, also received praise, with a judge stating, "Their perspective is excellent. Experiential travel has a great demand." Sharp questions were raised regarding the feasibility of the businesses, such as the speed of user acquisition for teams adopting an advertising revenue model, and the concretization of financial plans for teams using a subscription model. The students seemed to gain new insights as they answered each question. **Special Lecture by Shuzo Narita** Serial Entrepreneur / Angel Investor / Co-founder of HR Higher Education, Mr. Shuzo Narita Mr. Shuzo Narita, an entrepreneur, gave a lecture on the theme of "Contrarian Thinking and Three Lessons - How to Create Your Future with Your Own Power." Based on his own experiences of overcoming adversity—his father disappearing at 14 and his mother becoming paralyzed at 17—and achieving listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers at 25, he introduced "contrarian thinking": "Adversity in life is a miracle for a bright future" and "Doubt common sense and win in less competitive areas." Furthermore, he presented three lessons to the high school students: ① Know and cultivate your individuality, ② Goal setting determines 80% of your life, and ③ Mathematically control luck (if you try 459 times, even with a 1% success rate, you'll succeed 99% of the time). His message, "Failure is preparation for success. It's important to increase the number of attempts," deeply resonated with the high school students in the audience. **After the Achievement Report Session** Governor Suzuki commented, "New businesses emerge from solving everyday problems. It is important to maintain problem awareness and keep challenging." In addition, judges sent powerful messages such as, "The experience of seeing it through for eight months is a treasure in itself," and "Maintaining passion and continuing the service for a long time are crucial for an entrepreneur." Teams that narrowly missed out on awards also received words of praise, with judges noting, "The evaluation was very close, and all efforts were wonderful." A survey of participating students showed a high overall program satisfaction rating of "4.6 out of 5 points." Furthermore, 16 out of 19 students (approximately 84%) responded that they "started to want to start a business" or "their interest increased" regarding entrepreneurship and business, indicating that the program brought about significant changes in the students' awareness. Students shared comments such as, "I gained a lot of confidence," "I'm no longer afraid to take action," "What I want to do in the future became clearer, and my presentation skills improved," and "I was able to face myself and developed the strength not to give up." RePlayce will continue to expand its circle of challenges from regional to national levels through practical entrepreneurship education, including "FuJI." **Overview of Each Presentation** Team Name: Inazuma (Grand Prize) Theme: Mimosa Denki ~Electrician App for Women~ Team Name: DOD (Dot) (Excellence Award) Theme: A Revolution to Protect Children's Learning, Not Giving Up Due to Differences Team Name: IZUscape (Excellence Award) Theme: A New Story Between Locals and Travelers, Starting from One Post Team Name: Hají Vita Theme: CoreLinx, a New Career App Where You Discover Your Own Contact Book Through Interest x Experience Team Name: SymLoop Theme: Words are Reborn by Connecting Team Name: BioLac Theme: Saving the World with Milk Team Name: RforU Theme: Revolution ~A Reiwa Wind for Uniform Reuse~ Team Name: RMShouse Theme: Multicultural Co-living Share House Service Team Name: bridge Theme: FarmWave ~A Radio Connecting Nursing Homes and Families~ Team Name: Mini Rai Theme: Normalizing Disaster Preparedness in Daily Life Team Name: Aster Theme: SNS Service Where LGBTQ Individuals Can Easily Get Support Team Name: Next Nippon Navigators Theme: Deep Travel Exploring the Real Japan Hidden in Regions, Not Just Tourist Spots Team Name: CastBe Theme: Delivering High School Students' Voices! Judges