Funny business

It started with a PR campaign featuring Tekken, a comedian famed for his innovative use of flip-books and drawings. In 2016 the manga-loving funnyman, one of the stars on the books of Osaka-headquartered talent agency Yoshimoto Kogyo, had agreed to use his page-flipping skills to help the Ministry of Justice in its efforts to help former juvenile delinquents get their lives back on track. The routine was spotted by Kaoru Nemoto, director of the United Nations Information Centre, who recognized the value in getting comedians to help spread the word on topics that might at first appear unlikely sources of humour. Nemoto asked Yoshimoto Kogyo to take part in a number of educational activities including events and videos to help spread the word about the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Takayuki Oinuma says that the company’s goal is to help youngsters gain the skills required to secure a bright future

In April 2019 Yoshimoto Kogyo along with telecoms giant NTT and the Cool Japan Fund established a new video production and app-making company called Laugh & Peace Mother. Its president, Takayuki Oinuma, says that the company’s goal is to help Japanese youngsters gain the skills required to secure a bright future for themselves – and for the country. The key skills children require, he believes, include communicating well, being creative and making things from scratch, and the ability to be flexible and adapt to changing times. “It’ll be difficult to be competitive in the job market in the future with only academic skills, as jobs are disappearing and entirely new jobs are being created in the span of a decade,” says Oinuma.

With these goals in mind, Laugh & Peace Mother provides videos, apps and online classes to its users. Although it’s only been up-and-running for a short time, the company already offers more than 500 videos, including animated biographies of historical figures and sporting clips accompanied by athletes offering tips. The apps include games which help kids improve their math, writing and geography skills, as well as online classes conducted by popular comedians. Using tech to help kids learn is a winning concept – education Laugh & Peace Mother-style feels a bit like watching comedy clips on social media, or playing video games. “The hardest part of the planning process was figuring out how to capture both sides – children’s enjoyment and parents’ satisfaction,” says Oinuma. “We started by finding out what children like. Once they find something they like, they usually stick to it.”

“The hardest part of the planning process was figuring out how to capture both sides – children’s enjoyment and parents’ satisfaction”

An instant success

In the three months since the service was launched, over 120,000 of the company’s apps have been downloaded. The feedback from parents has been particularly encouraging, says Oinuma, and the company has received requests from schools to provide online after-school classes. “We’d like to do our part in Japan’s efforts to digitize the educational field,” says Oinuma.

“Through education, people will become more aware of their responsibilities and even awareness of climate change will deepen”

The company is already looking at the possibility of expanding to other countries. “Japanese education programs produced by NHK and other channels have been well received overseas,” says Oinuma. “The original idea for Laugh & Peace Mother was to create a platform that would be accessible outside of Japan as well.” However, Oinuma stresses that the company won’t rush into expansion. “I’d like to think that we expand only after a thorough analysis of what’s been popular domestically and which parts of our output are easily adaptable.” He believes that content would need to be localized to account for cultural differences.

“Through education, people will become more aware of their responsibilities and even awareness of climate change will deepen”

The fourth UN sustainable development goal is to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. Oinuma believes that technological advances will help Japan and other nations reach this goal. “I believe that with good education, poverty and hunger can be reduced,” he says. “Through education, people will become more aware of their responsibilities and even awareness of climate change will deepen. I think it’s a very fundamental and important goal, and I’m going to work very hard towards realizing it.”