TOKYO – A high school in northern Japan that has produced many curling talents, including Milan Cortina Winter Olympian Sayaka Yoshimura, is at risk of closing due to declining enrollment.
Hokkaido Tokoro High School in the northernmost main island hopes to avert the crisis by attracting students from across the country, starting in the next fiscal year from April, with Yoshimura saying she wants to “give dreams” to aspiring Olympic curlers.
Kaho Onodera, another member of the Fortius club competing as the Japanese women’s team in Milan, also graduated from the Hokkaido government-run school.
Located in Kitami facing the Sea of Okhotsk, Tokoro High School had only 27 students enrolled as of January, down from about 70 when Yoshimura and Onodera, both now 34, attended.
The decline shows no sign of slowing, as more households relocate to Sapporo, Hokkaido’s capital, and more students attend high schools outside the city, vice principal Satomi Ryu said.
Hokkaido’s education board has indicated it may stop accepting new students if enrollment falls below 20.
Although Tokoro High School will continue accepting new students through fiscal 2028, Ryu said it would be “very challenging” to recruit 20 students every year.
Kitami residents have joined the bid to preserve the school, making efforts to prepare boarding accommodation for students from outside the area.
Three-time Olympian Mari Motohashi, who also graduated from the school, has been part of the initiative.
Kitami has produced Olympians for eight consecutive Winter Games, starting from the 1998 Nagano Olympics in central Japan.
“As I’ve always received cheers from local high school students, I want to compete with the pride of Tokoro,” Onodera said.
AloJapan.com