What Yashima Gakuen does

Yashima Gakuen is a correspondence university and correspondence high school corporation. The company is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan.

Name

Yashima Gakuen

Legal name

学校法人八洲学園 (Gakko Hojin Yashima Gakuen)

Website

https://yashima.ac.jp/

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Yashima Gakuen is a correspondence university and correspondence high school corporation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Distance Learning Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Graduate Schools (Master’s & Doctoral Programs) (EDAHALAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private/Independent Online K–12 Schools (EDAJADAC)

Keywords

• Correspondence education
• Distance learning
• Internet university
• Vocational training
• Lifelong learning

Headquarters

HQ city

Yokohama

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Enrollment Fees: Revenue from student tuition fees and enrollment fees across multiple schools including university, high schools, and vocational schools.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Yashima Gakuen is a school corporation operating correspondence/distance education institutions in Japan, including a university (Japan's first internet university, est. 2004), four high schools (correspondence, international, women's commercial, and a new pet grooming vocational school opening 2026), and vocational schools in music and social independence training. Programs lead to formal graduation credentials and national qualifications such as librarian and museum curator certifications.

Product overview

Yashima Gakuen is a school corporation operating a multi-institutional educational portfolio consisting of one university (八洲学園大学 - Japan's first internet university established 2004), four high schools (八洲学園高等学校 - correspondence high school established 1992, 八洲学園大学国際高等学校 - international credit-based high school, 福岡女子商業高等学校 - women's commercial high school, and the new エコーペット高等専修学校 opening 2026), and two professional training schools (やしま学園高等専修学校 and ESA音楽学院専門学校 - the latter being Japan's only wind band vocational school). The institutions offer distance learning, credit-based, and full-time programs across correspondence education, with a focus on lifelong learning, professional skills training, and flexible educational pathways.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Yashima Gakuen University (八洲学園大学) Japan's first internet university established in 2004, offering a School of Lifelong Learning. Students can obtain national qualifications as librarians and museum curators upon graduation. Targets working adults and other learners seeking flexible higher education through correspondence/distance learning.
• Yashima Gakuen High School (八洲学園高等学校) Correspondence high school with campuses and branch offices in Osaka, Kanagawa, Tokyo, and Hyogo. Established in 1992 with over 36,000 graduates, providing a top-class track record for completing high school education. Serves students who cannot attend traditional full-time high schools.
• Yashima Gakuen University International High School (八洲学園大学国際高等学校) Japan's first high school combining credit-based system, wide-area correspondence, and short-term intensive formats, accepting students from across the country.
• Yashima Gakuen Higher Vocational School (やしま学園高等専修学校) Full-time professional training high school in Osaka Prefecture aimed at achieving social independence. Targets students needing structured support to transition into independent adult life.
• Fukuoka Women's Commercial High School (福岡女子商業高等学校) Full-time commercial high school in Fukuoka Prefecture with an educational philosophy of nurturing ambitious women who strive independently. Provides commerce-focused high school education.
• ESA Music College (ESA音楽学院専門学校) Vocational school in Osaka Prefecture with Japan's only wind band department. Offers curricula for careers in government music bands, instrument repair (reparateurs), music study abroad, and repair study abroad programs. Targets aspiring music professionals.
• Echo Pet Higher Vocational School (エコーペット高等専修学校) Governor-approved professional training school for dog grooming (トリマー) located in front of JR Amagasaki Station, opening April 2026. Trains students to become professional pet groomers.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SOBA Education Co., Ltd. (株式会社SOBAエデュケーション)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 October 2025Yashima Gakuen holds 50% ownership in SOBA Education, which provides the e-learning infrastructure for Yashima Gakuen University's distance education system. Following a management change at parent company SOBA Project in October 2025, the university entered into a long-term service contract to ensure stable system operations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cyber University (サイバー大学): Cyber University, operated by SoftBank, is Japan's other major fully-online university and the closest direct competitor to Yashima Gakuen University. Both target adult learners seeking flexible degree programs with national qualifications, delivered entirely via internet-based platforms.
• N High School (N高等学校) / Kadokawa Dwango Educational Institute: Kadokawa Dwango's N High School and S High School are Japan's largest correspondence high schools and compete directly with Yashima Gakuen High School for working adults and students seeking flexible HS completion. Both rely on IT-enabled distance learning as the core delivery model.
• Clark Memorial International High School (クラーク記念国際高等学校): Clark Memorial is one of Japan's largest wide-area correspondence/credit-based high schools and a direct competitor to Yashima's correspondence high schools, particularly the International High School in Okinawa. Both target students nationwide seeking flexible graduation pathways.
• Asuka Mirai High School (飛鳥未来高等学校): Asuka Mirai is a network of correspondence high schools operating under the Kikunawa Gakuen school corporation, competing with Yashima for the same wide-area correspondence HS student segment across multiple Japanese prefectures.
• Yakushima Oozora High School (屋久島おおぞら高等学校): Operated by Kawamitsu Gakuen, Yakushima Oozora is a well-known credit-based correspondence high school competing with Yashima's HS products, particularly for students seeking non-traditional graduation pathways in Japan.

Broad incumbents

• Shobi University (尚美学園大学): Shobi is a traditional Japanese university that also operates distance-learning and lifelong-learning programs, overlapping with Yashima Gakuen University's adult-learner and professional-credentialing focus, but as part of a broader campus-based institution.
• Tokyo Shoseki / Gakken correspondence education units: Major Japanese education publishers (Gakken, Tokyo Shoseki) operate correspondence courses and e-learning for K-12 and adult learners, providing a broader set of incumbent alternatives to Yashima's high-school and university correspondence products.
• O-HARA School of Professional Cooking & Vocational Group: Large Japanese vocational-school operator (O-Hara Gakuen) running multiple senmon gakko across Japan, comparable to Yashima's ESA Music College and Yashima Higher Vocational School in the career-focused vocational training category.

Emerging players

• University of the People: UoPeople is a tuition-free, fully online global university that targets the same adult-learner, flexible-degree segment as Yashima Gakuen University, though it does not operate in Japan directly; useful as a strategic benchmark for the online-university category.

Others

• SOBA Project / SOBA Education Inc. SOBA Project is the joint-venture parent of SOBA Education, in which Yashima holds a 50% stake. It is not a competitor but the closest enabling partner — it provides the e-learning infrastructure that Yashima Gakuen University's distance education depends on, making it the most operationally linked peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Yashima Gakuen