NIJIN INC.
World peace
through education.
NIJIN solves problems in education by building systems, not by blaming anyone.
Together with children whom school does not fit, children education does not reach, teachers who want to keep learning and people who want to build the future, we are creating a society where everyone can believe in themselves and in the world.
SOCIAL IMPACT
Where NIJIN stands today, in numbers.
More than 900 children of elementary to high school age have enrolled in a way of learning other than conventional school.
Teachers across Japan learn from one another and spread practical knowledge that changes lessons.
Children who have moved on to their next stage, by returning to school or graduating.
Ventures that solve problems in education by building systems.
ABOUT NIJIN
What kind of company
is NIJIN?
To achieve world peace through education, we solve problems in education by fixing the system, not the people.
A child who stops going to school is not at fault. A teacher who is worn out is not at fault either. And when a person’s worth is judged by academic record alone, that too is a problem with how society is built.
So NIJIN builds three things: a new education infrastructure alongside school, innovation in the teaching profession, and a new career path that does not depend on test scores. We work on problems in Japanese education and, at the same time, on the problem of children around the world who cannot reach education.
Our name
Why we are called NIJIN.
The name holds two Japanese words at once: niji (虹, rainbow) and ni-jin (二人, two people). Together they say: be yourself, and make someone happy.
So that everyone can live as themselves, each in their own colour.
Because everyone has the power to be happy and the power to make another person happy.
Be HAPPY, Do HAPPY
Everyone has the power to be happy, and the power to make others happy.
Founder
It started in Guatemala.
Tatsuro Hoshino has seen education fail children in two opposite ways, on two sides of the world. NIJIN is his answer to both.
Tatsuro HoshinoFounder and CEO, NIJIN Inc. Principal of NIJIN Academy.
“They want to learn, but they cannot.”
As a JICA overseas cooperation volunteer, he worked to widen access to education for children in Guatemala.
“They can learn, but school does not fit them.”
For seven years he taught at a public elementary school in Japan, and watched children lose hope inside the classroom.
Don’t blame people. Build systems.
He left teaching and founded NIJIN, to build a second layer of educational infrastructure alongside school.
WORLDVIEW
Three plans for education infrastructure,
on the way to world peace.
The purpose is world peace through education. A new education infrastructure, innovation in teaching and a new career path are the concrete means.
A new education infrastructure
alongside school
“Portable public education”: wherever a child is, an education richer than school alone can offer.
Innovation in
the teaching profession
A system in which people who can promise to put the child first can work as teachers.
A new career path
beyond test scores
Another reliable path, where non-cognitive skills, co-creation with society, practice and character are what count.
The school
We made public education portable.
Friends, basic academic skills, exercise and dialogue used to exist only inside a school building. NIJIN Academy delivers them to wherever the child is.
A campus in the metaverse
Children attend from home. There are four campuses, each kept to about 150 children so that everyone can get to know each other, with 100 live classes a month.
A real classroom nearby
48 physical classrooms across Japan, each opened by a local person: a nurse, a parent, a former teacher. Online and in person, the best of both.
A teacher beside each child
Small mixed-age classes with a homeroom teacher. More than 200 people apply to teach each month, and 2 to 3% are accepted.
Watch
See the school as it really is.
Every week the whole school meets in a live homeroom, hosted by the children themselves. Nothing explains NIJIN Academy better.
CCThe videos are in Japanese. To watch in English, turn on subtitles, then open Settings, choose Subtitles, Auto-translate and English.
Live · Whole-school homeroomThe weekly homeroom, hosted by the students and streamed live.
TV Asahi30-minute feature on NIJIN
Principal and studentA student who thought he did not fit into society now talks about his dreams
Award finalThe final pitch for the Courageous Management Award
NIJIN AcademyThe school in under three minutesMore on YouTube: NIJIN Academy live homeroomsPrincipal Tatsuro’s channel
WHAT WE DO
What NIJIN
is working on now.
Each venture is not a service to advertise. It is a solution put into practice. Here are four of our more than 13 ventures and projects.
School non-attendance, correspondence high schools, teachers’ learning, inquiry, co-creation with society, work overseas. These four are only some of them.
NIJIN Academy
An alternative school where children whom school does not fit come to like themselves, learning and society.
NIJIN High School (Niji-ko)
A support school for correspondence high school students. It faces the isolation, lack of dialogue and career worries that arise there, and develops each student’s own strengths and specialist skills.
After-school Project School
Project-based learning that starts from what a child loves: presenting, art, entrepreneurship, IT and finding problems.
Jugyo Terrace
A training platform where teachers across Japan connect and move towards lessons in which children learn through dialogue.
All ventures
All 14 ventures and projects.
NIJIN Academy
For children whom conventional school does not fit: a place where they grow to like themselves, learning and society.
Visit site →NIJIN High School (Niji-ko)
A support school for students enrolled in correspondence high schools, where they develop their own strengths and specialist skills.
Visit site →After-school Project School
Children who attend school take on projects after class with peers, companies and local adults across Japan.
Visit site →Jugyo Terrace
Elementary school teachers across Japan connect online, watch each other’s lessons and share practice.
Visit site →
Chugakko Terrace
Junior high school teachers exchange ideas on classroom management, school duties and everyday concerns.
Visit site →
Sensei Career Coach
We support teachers as they choose a way of working they can believe in, without assuming that means changing jobs.
Visit site →
Ranius
Training, coaching and certification for teachers, using AI. A comparative trial is planned for December 2026.
Visit site →
NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY
For children and parents in Asia and Oceania. Opening planned for September 2027.
Visit site →
Tomodachi Japan
Learn Japanese online by talking with children in Japan about what you both love. Pilot planned for December 2026.
Visit site →
NIJIN ACADEMY ALL HAPPY
Live online classes that connect learners around the world.
Visit site →
Hoshino Entrepreneurship School
A programme that develops entrepreneurs in education, from starting a side business to leading a group company.
Visit site →
Nijiiro
Information that helps families of children who are not attending school think about their next step.
Visit site →
Principal Tatsuro on YouTube
Videos that open a conversation about systems and choices in learning, without blaming anyone.
Visit site →
NIJIN Education Lab
An online community where educators and people from many other fields meet.
Visit site →ROADMAP
From Japan to the world.
Our road ahead.
Speed is the greatest sincerity we can show a social problem. NIJIN does not leave a plan as a dream. We put it into practice as a business.
First steps outside Japan
The StartX programme in Silicon Valley from October. In December, the Ranius comparative trial in the United States and the Tomodachi Japan pilot.
Schools that cross borders
The X-HUB TOKYO programme in the United Kingdom, with Cambridge CISL as partner, planned for January and February. NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY, an online international school, planned to open in September.
NIJIN Academy in each country
Our plan is to turn the overseas work into a business. We are now recruiting the Country Heads who will found and lead NIJIN Academy in their own countries.
JOIN US
From wherever you stand,
you can help change education.
NIJIN is not a company of employees only. Founders, researchers, companies, universities, teachers and families: each person who takes part helps build a new education infrastructure.
MEMBERS
Meet the people of NIJIN.
Who is taking on this challenge, and why? These interviews show how our members work.
See all interviews →
The world I found after I left teaching at public elementary and junior high schools.
#Metaverse campus head #PR
Raising three children while working as a homeroom teacher in the metaverse.
#Metaverse homeroom teacher #Local government partnerships
A second job that makes room for a personal way of working and for career growth.
#Metaverse homeroom teacher #Physical classroom #Corporate partnerships #Overseas partnerships
“I want to build a place where people make their own lives.” A former high school teacher’s challenge.
#Metaverse homeroom teacher #Physical classroom
Building the best lessons, precisely because it is outside school.
#Jugyo Terrace #Venture head #Lesson reform
A graduate of a correspondence high school, now on the side that changes education.
#Intern #Niji-ko #Corporate partnershipsRecognition
Recognised in Japan, and internationally.
What these awards recognise is not one school or one teacher. It is the work of rebuilding education as a system, together with children, teachers, companies and local governments.
Junior Chamber International (JCI)
Our founder Tatsuro Hoshino was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World.
He is the only person from Japan honoured in 2026, selected in the category “Children, peace & human rights”.
Prime Minister’s Encouragement Award
Grand Prix of JCI JAPAN TOYP 2025, known in Japan as the youth version of the People’s Honour Award.
Courageous Management Award, Grand Prize
Startup category of the 22nd award by the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry. One company chosen from 39.
NIKKEI THE PITCH SOCIAL, Grand Prix
Organised by Nikkei Inc. Recognised as a sustainable business that solves a social problem.
Forbes JAPAN NEXT100
Tatsuro Hoshino was selected as one of the “100 people of hope who will save the world”.
GSAP AI course, with StartX
Accepted onto the overseas programme of JETRO and Japan’s Cabinet Office. The accelerator is StartX, born at Stanford University.
X-HUB TOKYO, UK course
Accepted onto the programme of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, run by JETRO. The partner is CISL at the University of Cambridge.
As featured in
TV Asahi30-minute feature on NIJIN’s education
NHKHow a child’s smile came back
Nikkei MJTaking school to the children- NHK
- TV Asahi
- Forbes JAPAN
- Nikkei MJ
- Toyo Keizai Online
- TOKYO FM
- J-WAVE
- 20 newspapers across Japan
See all awards and media coverage
Company
Company profile
- Name
- NIJIN Inc. (株式会社NIJIN)
- Founded
- 1 April 2022
- Founder and CEO
- Tatsuro Hoshino
- Address
- 2-5-5 Tokiwa, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0006, Japan
- Share capital
- JPY 10 million
- Team
- 120 people, including contractors and part-time staff
- Business
- Teacher training, alternative schools, support for entrepreneurs, education events, after-school programmes
- We have worked with
- Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR, Malaysia), Nisai Group, TOPPAN Holdings, Kao, Panasonic, SoftBank, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Gakugei University