The several lockdowns of the pandemic in 2020 will probably make history for being one of the most challenging times for humanity. Children and kids had the most enormous price to pay for it all. They were suddenly forced to stay home and break overnight with all their social relationships, sports mates, classmates, friends from their neighborhood, and even relatives.

Wataru Yoshida's Relationship To School 

The lockdown period crossed throughout their young lives and changed them, anyway. Regardless of how they faced the Covid-19 problem, the lockdowns damaged youth. And even after schools reopened in the middle of 2020, thousands of students didn't want to return to their desks again. This happened in the USA, Europe, and Japan without any relevant differences due to cultural backgrounds. One thing is for sure: the lockdowns will never fade away from their memories. Many students, like Wataru Yoshida in Japan, felt that the school hadn't anything to offer them again. He dislikes his teachers and the new strict rules of the reopening period - which convinced him to stay home and not get back to school. Once home, he found that playing video games all day was much funnier and more engaging than sitting at a desk at school. Like him, thousands of other students decided to stay at home and spend their time playing video games.

Japan's First e-Sports High School

The phenomenon was becoming so worrying that someone thought it was time to take action against the drop-out trend among Japanese students. The genius idea came in Tokyo, Japan's capital city, where the highest number of drop-out students emerged after the pandemic. The result is the rise of the country's first e-sports high school: a unique academy where Wataru and 24 more teenage students are now part of an inaugural project, the first esports class. Japan's first esports high school in Tokyo shares its secret in getting students to attend classes again: the academy offers a combination of class work with hours of video game playing, aiming to feed the growing demand for professional gamers. 

Tokyo's Academy In The Metaverse

The school refusal problem isn't new to the Japanese system, as chronic absenteeism started in the early 1990s. During that time, teachers noticed that over 1% of elementary and middle school students had dropped out attending school. Also, the percentage has over than doubled in the following years. A similar situation happens in the US, where numbers show higher rates of drop-out students in the country.

Consider that Japanese society is a pressing system that can often appear challenging and hostile to children and young adults. The truth is that school operators struggle to find a way. Distance learning has been an experimental model for a while, but it didn't perform great results. 

The definitive change came as Tokyo announced in December 2022 that a new project would start: a school in the metaverse. The project showed off with a few photos that clarify what this innovative environment will look like in a high-quality Japanese role-playing video game. Despite most parents looking at the new school suspiciously, the drop-out students already look interested in it. This new school model will have more to offer them, starting from specific knowledge and skill training in video gaming. 

Esports Popularity In Japan

The world is changing - schools must follow the change. If it won't, students will find themselves surrounded by a strange employment market where computer and gaming skills may be required. Schools must adjust their system to the new social changes, so the metaverse and a video gaming training class can help students get back to school and improve fundamental skills to navigate the employment market after high school.  

The academy in Tokyo is the only school model to offer career prospects for professional gaming, unifying leisure and work opportunities for numerous teenage students. In particular, eSports emerge as a flourishing segment in Japan with promising potential, which makes sense with the video game academy project. E-sports has gained immense popularity in Japan in the last few years, captivating a large audience of gaming enthusiasts. With its rapid rise and growing fan base, e-sports is a strong force in the gaming industry. As Santaro Taguchi, owner of the website https://www.japanbets.com, commented, 'The rise of e-sports has transformed the gaming landscape, creating thrilling opportunities for both skilled players to showcase their talents and passionate enthusiasts to engage in the excitement and camaraderie of competitive gaming'. It's finally time to renovate the school system and make it a more inclusive and global experience for the future.