Seifukan High School Conducts 'Special Class Connecting to Society,' featuring ARATA Co., Ltd. CEO on 'Skills Required in the AI Era and the Mission of the Construction Industry.'

Seifukan High School places great importance on connecting with society from high school, regularly holding special 'Guest Speaker' classes by professionals. In this session, amid the rapid spread of AI, students heard from a leading business executive on the skills required in the coming society and the social mission of the construction industry.

## Overview of the Special Class

- Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2026
- Speaker: Isamu Kusunose, Representative Director, ARATA Co., Ltd.
- Profile: After working in construction management for a landscaping firm, Kusunose transitioned to the IT industry. Based on his achievements in developing operational efficiency tools, he established ARATA Co., Ltd. in 2020. The company develops three businesses: BPR consulting, staffing, and IT skill development. He is a practitioner of 'Field × Technology,' possessing practical experience as both a field supervisor and an IT engineer.

## Class Background: The 'Social Maintenance' Crisis Following the 2024 Issue

Currently, Japan has entered a phase where the 'maintenance of social functions' itself is jeopardized due to the aging of infrastructure built during the high economic growth period and a labor shortage accompanying population decline. In the construction industry in particular, the decline in young entrants has accelerated since the tightening of labor regulations in 2024, making the shortage of infrastructure maintenance personnel a serious social issue.

Meanwhile, in educational settings, many students narrow their future options due to the vague anxiety that 'AI will steal jobs.' In this class, Kusunose, who has perspectives as both a field supervisor and an IT engineer, proposed that by mastering AI, construction sites will evolve into 'domains where human-unique value is maximized.'

## Key Points: 'Three Essential Values of Construction Sites' That AI Cannot Replace

Kusunose defined AI as an 'excellent partner' and explained three reasons why humans will continue to play a leading role:

- Responding to the Complexity of Custom Production: The power to derive optimal solutions under complex conditions—such as varying structures, terrain, and weather—that exceed the routine tasks AI excels at.
- Building Trust with Diverse Professionals: The relationship-building skills cultivated through the flow of communicating with skilled artisans of various techniques, understanding their emotions, and completing a single project.
- Immediate Optimal Judgment and Responsibility: The wisdom accompanying responsibility—'making decisions on the spot' based on personal experience during unexpected troubles—which AI cannot bear.

## Three Significant Meanings of This Class

Behind conducting this 'Construction × IT' class at this timing lies the significance of an AI-era education model that goes beyond simple career introduction:

- Connecting Social Issues with 'Personal Matters': The school emphasizes creating contact points with society early on rather than treating 'school as the goal.' By touching upon the massive social issue of Japan's infrastructure crisis, the school provides students with a catalyst to ask, 'What can I do?' and form the motivation to learn subjectively.
- Presenting 'How to Use AI' as an AI Advanced Model School: As an 'AI Advanced Model School' certified by the Japan Educational AI Utilization Association, the school defines AI not just as a tool for knowledge acquisition, but as an 'extension tool' to make the physical world better. By multiplying AI with the construction industry, often shunned as physical labor, the school breaks students' stereotypes.
- Visualizing Fields Where 'Non-Cognitive Skills' Flourish: This session served as a place to prove how the 'ability to challenge questions without clear answers' and 'empathy,' which the school focuses on developing, are necessary in the real world (construction sites). It aims for students to rediscover their individuality as skills to support society, not as 'studying for the sake of studying.'

## Comment from Speaker: Isamu Kusunose (Representative Director, ARATA Co., Ltd.)

'In the future, Japan will overwhelmingly need human resources to protect infrastructure. Students at Seifukan who can set questions themselves and master AI as their right arm are the existence most needed by the future construction industry. Touched by the proactive passion of the students, I am convinced that we can create 'creative sites where humans play the leading role' that AI cannot imitate.'

## About Seifukan High School

Seifukan is a correspondence high school support school that respects each individual's personality, holding the motto 'live as yourself.' Based in Akashi and Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, it supports diverse career paths tailored to what students 'want to do' through project-based learning (PBL) and guest classes inviting professionals from various fields.

Furthermore, as an 'AI Advanced Model School' designated by the Japan Educational AI Utilization Association, it actively introduces AI into the learning process and builds a next-generation learning environment utilizing advanced technology.