The entire town is a campus. Japan's largest university, "Omizo University," will open.
365 days a year, someone is apprenticing somewhere. Towards Japan's most creative town that supports challenges.
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- 📰 Published: April 1, 2026 at 18:49
- 🔍 Collected: April 1, 2026 at 10:15
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 16, 2026 at 20:50 (370h 34m after Collected)
Our company endorses April Dream, which aims to make April 1st a day to express dreams. This press release is a dream of "SAWAMURA."
Sawamura Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, SAWAMURA), a general construction company headquartered in Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture, endorses "April Dream" implemented by PR TIMES and envisions the opening of "Omizo University," which regards the entire area of Katsuno, Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture (former Omizo area, hereinafter "Omizo") as one giant campus.
The stage is Omizo, an Important Cultural Landscape with over 400 years of history.
We chose the area around our head office, where the "town water channels" that separate domestic water and wastewater have fostered healthy living, and where centuries-old businesses still thrive, as our "campus."
We believe that the culture of this region, which has walked hand-in-hand with the "water" that has supported and developed life in Shiga, holds hints for enriching future society.
Coexistence with nature, pride in craftsmanship, and a spirit of warmly welcoming outsiders. On this 400-year-old foundation, we will combine the sensibilities of a new generation to create practical learning that cannot be learned from textbooks alone.
Japan's largest campus, "Omizo University"
1. 365 days a year, someone is "apprenticing" somewhere.
This university has no fixed timetable. One day, you might learn about fermentation at a long-established funazushi shop, and another day, you might learn the "basics of space creation" by renovating an empty house. At night, local izakayas transform into seminar venues, where lively discussions transcend generations. We aim for a landscape where, 365 days a year, someone is learning from someone and challenging themselves somewhere in town. Such "apprenticeship" is integrated into daily life.
2. Everyone in town is a "professor," and the entire town is a "classroom."
The townscape of this castle town, with its 400 years of history, is itself a "classroom."
And the greatest curriculum is for everyone living here—farmers, shopkeepers, and immigrant creators—to generously transmit and develop their way of life, wisdom, and orally transmitted history as "professors."
3. From "consumers" to "creators": a chance to transform.
We nurture "creators" who make their own lives interesting, rather than mere "consumers" who only receive services.
This is a "practical" university where you can take on challenges without fear of failure, utilizing the field of Omizo to its fullest, such as renovating vacant houses yourself or launching new businesses that leverage local history. This is where Japan's most creative challenges are born.
The future we envision with "Omizo University"
The goal of this university is not merely to provide educational programs.
It is to increase the number of people who love the town through learning, ensuring that the historic townscape remains a vibrant place 100 years from now. And it is to realize a society where everyone, from children to adults, mixes beyond the boundaries of "teaching and being taught," and everyone can shine as a protagonist.
"A construction company turns a town into a university."
Through this dream, SAWAMURA will evolve from a company that builds structures to a company that nurtures the future of the region and the potential of the people living there.
Challenge towards realizing the dream: Exhibition at "Shiga FUTURE THINKING WEEK"
To bring this grand dream of a "town-as-university" closer to reality, we will exhibit at "Shiga FUTURE THINKING WEEK," a festival for co-creating the future of Shiga. This event is a forum for discussing challenges that must be addressed now, with a "future-oriented" mindset towards Shiga in 2050.
At the venue, we plan to present exhibitions and sessions that embody the "borderless learning" that Omizo University aims for.
Our company will hold a talk session where Omizo town development organizations, universities, and companies (SAWAMURA) will discuss the future while experiencing the history of Omizo.
The dialogue here will not be limited to mere idea sharing. From this "experimental ground" where diverse sensibilities clash, we will derive concrete steps to update Omizo, and by extension, the entire Shiga Prefecture. Please look forward to our challenge to raise the resolution of our dream and change the landscape of society.
Company Profile: Sawamura Co., Ltd.
A general construction company that solves problems in a one-stop manner, from custom-built homes and renovations to the construction of offices, factories, stores, public facilities, and civil engineering, mainly in the Shiga, Kyoto, and Fukui areas. It also handled the construction of "Biwako Terrace," a tourist attraction visited by approximately 600,000 people annually. The company also works to create opportunities for local revitalization, such as holding local markets. Headquartered in Takashima City, which has a population of just under 46,000 and faces the issue of outflow of the working population, the company has grown its number of employees and sales by approximately double in 6 years since branding, with 661 entries for the 2027 new graduate recruitment (as of the end of March 2026). Its purpose is to "create a society where people can work and live richly."
Company Name: Sawamura Co., Ltd.
Representative: Koichiro Sawamura
Head Office: 1108-3 Katsuno, Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture
Industry: General Construction
Founded: 1950
Capital (Group total): 50,000,000 yen
Employees (Group total): 194 people *As of the end of March 2026
HP: https://www.sawamura-shiga.co.jp/
Main services: Residential environment business (custom-built homes, renovation/remodeling, exterior, real estate), Solution business (new construction/renovation of offices, factories, stores, warehouses, nursing homes, clinics, asset utilization, civil engineering)
FAQ
What is Omizo University?
It's a concept for one of Japan's largest universities, where the entire Omizo area of Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture, serves as a campus, with local residents acting as professors to provide practical learning.
Who will operate this university?
Sawamura Co., Ltd., a general construction company, will lead the operation in collaboration with local organizations and businesses.
What kind of learning can be gained?
Students can engage in practical and creative challenges not found in textbooks, such as fermentation techniques at long-established shops, renovating vacant houses, and launching local businesses.