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Asahi Shimbun
11 hours ago
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Closed schools find new lives as businesses, research centers
A dome tent stands on what was previously the yard of an elementary school, against the background of the former schoolhouse, at the Glamping & Port Yui lodging facility in Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture, on April 30. (Tetsuro Takehana) SHIMADA, Shizuoka Prefecture—While the declining birthrate has forced many public schools across Japan to close, some have found second lives as camp sites, artificial intelligence research centers, "senbei" rice cracker factories and more. Hundreds of public schools have closed annually over the last two decades or so, leaving many officials wondering how best to use the campuses. However, efforts to repurpose school facilities face common challenges as well. The now closed Yui Elementary School in Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture, stands surrounded by idyllic tea fields. On a recent day, 21 tents were lined up on its former schoolyard. In addition to the typical dome-shaped tents, some less-typical tents allow guests to bring their dogs. Glamping & Port Yui, as the 'glamorous camping' facility is called, opened for business in March 2022, roughly a year after the school closed. The reception area is in the former school library, where the lyrics of the school song still hang on the wall. The complex takes full advantage of the school facilities and has become popular for the variety of activities it offers. For example, guests can play basketball and other sports in the gymnasium and learn to make matcha-flavored sherbet in test tubes in the science and home economics rooms. The glamping site is about a 15-minute drive from the Tomei Expressway interchange. Iwa Connect Co., the Shimada-based operator of the complex, has signed a 20-year lease agreement with the city authorities. 'Business hotels account for the bulk of the available accommodations in Shimada,' Iwa Connect President Kazuhiro Fukazawa said. 'There used to be few facilities where families could stay.' Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Glamping & Port Yui achieved an 80 percent occupancy rate in its first year. The occupancy rate remained close to 70 percent in the summer of its second and third years. About 80 percent of the guests come from outside Shizuoka Prefecture, typically from Tokyo and Aichi and Kanagawa prefectures. A community space on the premises regularly hosts a market where locally grown vegetables and other products are sold. A SECOND LIFE In Miyawaka, Fukuoka Prefecture, the facilities of three closed schools have been transformed into AI research and development centers and other facilities. Miyawaka is located roughly midway between Fukuoka and Kita-Kyushu, about a 40-minute drive from either city. Trial Holdings Inc., a Fukuoka-based discount retailing giant that has a training facility in Miyawaka, approached the city about using the closed schools. The Miyawaka city government spent 1.15 billion yen ($7.98 million) to refurbish the former municipal Yoshikawa Elementary School, which closed in 2017. The AI research and development center opened in the school's facilities in 2021. City officials granted Trial Holdings the right to administer the facilities under a private finance initiative (PFI), which aims to utilize the know-how of the private sector in operating public facilities. The school's classrooms were remade into offices and meeting rooms, which are decorated with flasks, beakers and other classroom items, alongside a map of Japan. A farm produce shop was set up on the school's playground and a farm-fresh restaurant was opened in the gymnasium. Trial Holdings also acquired, this time for a fee, the facilities of two other schools that had closed—another elementary school and a junior high school. They are now being used for research and development on retail and physical distribution methods. 'We hope all this will promote long-term residency in the area,' said an official with the city government's secretarial and policy division. Elsewhere in Japan, other school buildings are finding success in their new lives as well. The former Hokuyo Elementary School in Koshimizu, Hokkaido, has been converted into a rice cracker factory with its own shop attached. The former Imazu-Nishi Elementary School in Takashima, Shiga Prefecture, is now a mushroom farm, while the former Shiina Elementary School in Muroto, Kochi Prefecture, has been transformed into an aquarium, attracting many tourists. DETERIORATION LOOMS School closures have increased due to the extensive municipal mergers of the 2000s. Education ministry figures show an average of 440 schools closed annually during the 20 years through fiscal 2023. The annual number of school closures peaked at 597 in fiscal 2012 and has since been on the decline. Of the 8,850 schools that closed during those two decades, 7,612 had not been demolished as of May 2024. Three-quarters of those school facilities were being used in some way, but 1,951 were in disuse. The former Nagase Elementary School in Nabari, Mie Prefecture, which closed in 2008, became a call center for a major transport company the following year. However, the lease was discontinued in 2023, partly because of the age-related deterioration of the 40-year-old schoolhouse. A survey by the education ministry asked respondents to list reasons that uses for closed school facilities had not been decided upon. 'A lack of requests from local communities,' and 'age-related deterioration of buildings,' were both cited in more than 40 percent of the cases. 'It is essential to enlist the help of the private sector to use closed school facilities effectively so they will not be left neglected as a 'negative legacy,' but will instead be used for regional revitalization,' said Toru Hatakeyama of the Organization for Urban-Rural Interchange Revitalization. Because leaving schools and other public facilities disused presents security risks—possible collapse during an earthquake or crimes such as trespassing—the internal affairs ministry in fiscal 2025 began allowing about half of demolition costs for these buildings to be covered by the central government's local allocation tax. Hatakeyama pointed out that if an effective use cannot be found for these closed school facilities, local governments have no choice but to take responsibility and demolish them. (This article was written by Yoshiko Aoyama, Michiko Yoshida and Yoshinobu Motegi.)
Asahi Shimbun
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Diet passes cyberdefense law to collect data in peacetime
The Active Cyber Defense (ACD) Law will allow the central government to hack into other parties' servers and render them harmless if there is any sign of a cyberattack. (Tetsuro Takehana) The Upper House passed a bill introducing an active cyberdefense allowing the central government to collect communications data and ward off cyberattacks at a plenary session on May 16. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, junior coalition partner, Komeito, the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party), the Democratic Party for the People, and others voted for the bill, while the Japanese Communist Party, Reiwa Shinsengumi and others opposed it. With the passage of the legislation, the central government can monitor the internet, collect and analyze communication information, and infiltrate and neutralize servers that cyberattacks originate from, even during peacetime. Full-scale operation is expected to begin by the end of 2027. The government will collect and analyze IP addresses, dates and times of transmissions, among other data, targeting communications originating from foreign countries and sent outside Japan via Japan, as well as communications between Japan and foreign countries. The government explains that the essential contents of communications, such as the contents of emails, will not be subject to collection and analysis. The cyber communications information supervisory board, an independent body that will be newly established, will monitor the government's operations. In the Upper House, the opposition parties argued that communications information collected by the government could be used for purposes other than active cyberdefense, such as criminal investigations. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who attended a meeting of the Upper House Cabinet Committee on May 15, said, 'Use beyond the scope of cybersecurity purposes is not acceptable. The supervisory board will continue to inspect whether it is being used appropriately.' The five parties in favor of the bill jointly submitted and adopted a supplementary resolution at the time of its passage, calling on the government to limit the use of acquired information to cybersecurity measures. During deliberations in the Lower House prior to the Upper House, the opposition parties argued that the bill could lead to restrictions on the 'secrecy of communications' guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution. Therefore, six ruling and opposition parties jointly submitted an amendment to the bill, which was sent to the Upper House. The amendment stated that the rights and freedoms of the people, including the secrecy of communications, 'must not be unreasonably restricted.'
