Kawasaki City is developing educational materials aimed at fostering entrepreneurship in elementary school students.

On a Saturday in June, 48 fifth-grade students at the newly opened Shin-Ogura Elementary School listened intently to a talk by entrepreneur Masaya Asou, CEO of LexxPluss, a company based in Kawasaki that develops robots for warehouse transportation. He explained the path to entrepreneurship and the robots he works on using photos and videos, and answered questions.

When asked, “How did you make the robot yourself?” he replied, “I just kept searching Google for how to make robots,” leaving the elementary school students surprised, “Really? You can make them that way?”

Questions continued to pour in: “How did you gather your team?” “What failures did you encounter?” “What kind of robot do you want to create next?”

Asou expressed satisfaction with the high level of interest, saying, “If I can share my experiences in more detail with those who are interested, it could be a unique opportunity they wouldn't normally have.”

Kawasaki, traditionally an industrial hub, has seen a steady outflow of companies and jobs in the manufacturing sector since Japan’s bubble years, with the blast furnace of JFE Steel, long a symbol of the city's industry, ceasing operations in autumn 2023.

As the city faces a transition in its industrial structure, it aims to cultivate human resources that will contribute to the creation of new industries.

With the help of local entrepreneurs and companies, the city will continue pilot lessons at Shin-Ogura Elementary School. Lesson materials will be finalized and compiled by the end of 2025, and expanded to other schools from 2026.