Wataru Yoshida had had enough of school. He disliked his teachers, chafed at the rules, and found his classes boring. So when Japan’s schools reopened in mid-2020 after pandemic closings, Wataru decided to stay home and play video games all day.
“He just declared, ‘I’m getting nothing from school,’” says his mother, Kae Yoshida.
After more than a year out of the classroom, Wataru, 16, has now returned to school—but not a typical one. He and about two dozen teens like him are part of Japan’s first e-sports high school, which opened in Tokyo last year.