Toyota opens elite boarding school

Toyota Motor Company has joined with Central Japan Railway and Chubu Electric Power to open an ultra-elite boarding school in Japan. The Kaiyo Academy, for boys aged 12-18 (sorry, folks, no Japanese schoolgirls here), is intended to help reverse what some view as a slide in Japanese educational standards (said to be brought about by the government's 30 percent reduction in standard school workloads in 2002).

Several are questioning the role of big businesses such as Toyota in the boarding-school business, but it wouldn't be surprising to find a rich educational pedigree among corporate leaders. Of course, General Motors operated Kettering University (formally the General Motors Institute, or GMI) from 1926 to 1982 as a means to cultivate future employees, and it wouldn't be surprising if Toyota had the same in mind for Kaiyo.

[Source: BusinessWeek]