The first time a 7-Eleven has opened inside a high school in Japan.

7-Eleven opened a new branch in Japan on 1 June, at a site so unusual it made nationwide news. This new store can be found inside Kochi Chuo High School in Kochi Prefecture, taking over the site of the school’s former cafeteria.

▼ Kochi Chuo High School

This is the first time a 7-Eleven store has been opened inside a high school in Japan, and it carries around 1,200 products inside its 100 square-metre (1,080 square foot) shop space. The chain says this is one of the company’s new “compact stores“, a format that the company has been expanding nationwide to meet the needs of businesses and institutions with limited space and specific demand.

Kochi Chuo ticks both boxes in terms of space and demand, but the reason behind its need for a convenience store isn’t an entirely happy one. As a private school with boarding facilities, which isn’t uncommon in rural areas like Kochi, securing three meals a day for its dormitory residents, which make up around a third of the 700 enrolled, is a high priority. However, in late February, the cafeteria’s operator informed the school that it would be difficult to continue operations due to rising costs and labor shortages, and although they attempted to find an alternative operator they were unable to find one.

In early April, the school officially decided to open a convenience store, citing its ability to provide stable meals, and the cafeteria closed on 13 May. Though the cafeteria’s operators provided students with packed lunches until the opening of the 7-Eleven on 1 June, some parents who’d enrolled their students in April without knowing about the closure expressed anger at the decision, while others had concerns about the change to students’ diets.

▼ Having easy access to ice cream when you’re a teenager is a dangerous prospect.

According to the school, opening a 7-Eleven was the best solution under the circumstances, especially in light of a significant decline in student numbers due to Japan’s falling birthrate, and current financial restructuring that includes raising tuition fees and introducing charges for school bus services to reduce deficits.

While some parents have criticised the closure of the cafeteria and the lack of advance notice, the convenience store has been well received by many students. The new 7-Eleven uses a QR-code-based purchasing system that allows students to buy items without waiting at a traditional checkout counter, and dormitory residents will also receive 30,000 yen (US$187.58) worth of points that can be used at the store.

▼ This news report shows the inside of the store, which is said to be around 25-50 percent smaller than a regular branch.

Operating hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and use is limited to students and select school-related personnel. At the school’s request, the store offers freshly prepared fried foods and aims to provide a stable supply of lunches, drinks, stationery and other daily necessities.

Principal Tomoyuki Tsutsumi says the school plans to work with club advisors and 7-Eleven to help students maintain balanced diets as they become more reliant on convenience-store meals. The school is also considering a guide with nutritional information and meal recommendations, while expanding dormitory cooking facilities to support students who wish to prepare some of their own food, with basketball club members already cooking rice for themselves in a large rice cooker three times a day.

The transition from traditional cafeteria to modern convenience store hasn’t been without its hiccups, but the school, whose motto is “Self-reliance and Independence”, aims to improve the selection of products in response to the needs of students and their parents, who have been invited to share opinions and requests through questionnaire forms.

The new 7-Eleven opens the door for other schools to follow in the footsteps of Kochi Chuo, and with the chain keen to work with schools to cater to their individual needs, it might even provide new opportunities for students to develop and commercialise their own products, like these students did with their carrot dorayaki.

Sources: Yahoo! News via Kinisoku, Yomiuri, Kochi Sansan Television
Featured image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso (1, 2) 
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