Yuzu Minase

Yuzu Minase /水瀬ゆず

I am the founder of a support program for school refusal that utilizes the world's first VR metaverse. I have launched a media platform called "Metacal Frontier" that showcases the "now" and "possibilities" of social metaverses. I am the Vice Chairman of the Metaverse Subcommittee of the Cabinet Office's Regional Revitalization SDGs Public-Private Partnership Platform. I was selected as a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum's U33 Global Shapers. I am the Representative Director of Yuzu Town General Incorporated Association and the Representative Director of Yuzu Plus Co., Ltd. (real name: Kenichi Okamura)

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Biography

Born in Hiroshima in 1999, during his time at Hiroshima Johoku Junior and Senior High School, he served as the captain of the Shaolin Kempo Club and won the prefectural and regional tournaments as part of the team. He also advanced to the semifinals of the All-Japan High School Comprehensive Athletic Meet Shaolin Kempo competition (Interhigh). After entering Ritsumeikan University's College of Life Sciences, he strongly identified with the ideals of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and was selected as the vice-executive committee chairman for the "Sustainable Week" participatory SDGs campus festival and as the student representative for the Ritsumeikan University Innovation Architect Development Program sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. He has won awards such as the Asahi Shimbun SDGs ACTION! AWARDS Grand Prix, the Asian Conference on Campus Sustainability Excellent Incentive Award, and has advanced to the finals of the Microsoft ImagineCup. He also won the Matsushita Political Economy Study Program 2019 Best Award.

After learning about metaverse through his research, he spent a total of 3,000 hours in metaverse spaces and founded the "Metaverse Share House" project with friends he met in the metaverse. They relocated to Kyoto and lived in the share house together. Recognizing the lack of awareness of the appeal of metaverse community culture, he launched the media platform "MetaCal Frontier" to share the "now" and "potential" of social metaverse. He also launched the world's first VR metaverse non-attendance support program for students with friends he met in the metaverse, in collaboration with Hiroshima City and Ritsumeikan University.

Media

2023.510「人生について考えられる”居場所”づくりを」立命館大学【+Rな人】

2023.3.25「おはよう日本」NHKNEWS

2023.3.19「メタバースの世界で生きるとは？」TV TOKYO

2023.3.1「メタバースで学びの場」NHK ほっとぐんま630

2023.1.22「新世界へお出かけ！メタバースNEWS!」テレビ朝日

2023.1.17「不登校だった女子高生、メタバースで体験語る「居場所求めていた」」朝日新聞デジタル

2023.1.6「不登校の日々、メタバースで心和む貴重な時間」中国新聞

2022.11.11「「リアルでやったら悲惨ですよ！」メタバースの不登校支援は、相手の素性を知る必要がない「居場所」の実現」QJWeb

2022.11.1「仮想空間に生きる人たちを観察」NHK「100カメ」

2022.10.14「不登校の子どもに〝新たな居場所〟」広島ホームテレビ「5upǃ」

2022.10.6「学校以外の選択肢も･･･居場所は仮想空間に？」ABEMA prime