Beppu City and Innoqua Launch 'Talent Discovery Program' Across All Public Kindergartens to Uncover 5-Year-Olds' Potential Through Nature

Innoqua Inc. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yota Takakura) and Beppu City, Oita Prefecture (Mayor: Yasuhiro Nagano) will launch the 'Talent Discovery Program' in May 2026. This initiative targets approximately 250 five-year-olds across all public kindergartens in Beppu City, aiming to uncover and visualize children's diverse personalities as 'talents' through nature-based experiences.

This project seeks to build a 'Talent Discovery Infrastructure' that supports children's growth across the community by visualizing preschool children's unique traits and ensuring a smooth transition to elementary school. This municipality-led, city-wide implementation is a pioneering model case, the first of its kind in Japan.

### Background: Toward a Society Where Children's Strengths Shine Currently, public opportunities for assessing development are scarce in the years between the age-three checkup and elementary school enrollment. The implementation rate of age-five checkups remains low at 14.1%. Furthermore, existing public support primarily focuses on 'overcoming challenges,' with few 'discovery-based' menus that positively develop individual strengths. This project addresses this gap by defining and visualizing characteristics as talents through nature experiences.

### Concept: Five Lenses Reflecting Individual Talent Innoqua categorizes children's diverse reactions to nature—an environment with no single correct answer—into five 'lenses' of budding talent:

- **Science:** Observation and question generation. Delving deep into subjects to find the 'why.' - **Engineer:** Understanding and improving structures. Interest in mechanisms and logic. - **Creator:** Unique sensitivity and self-expression. Joy in shaping one's worldview. - **Business:** Value creation and co-prosperity. Grasping what is good for everyone (including nature) and understanding connections. - **Communicator:** Passion for conveying. Strong energy to share discoveries and emotions.

Specialized staff carefully observe and translate which lens a child uses to engage with the world.

### Program Details and the 'Inheriting Personality' Mechanism The program is supervised by Yuki Toya (Representative of Michibiki Semi), an expert in education and independence support.

**1. Five Inquiry-Based Sessions at Beppu's Sea and Hot Springs** - **Sea (Tidal Pool) Experience (May 19 – June 5):** Using microscopes at local beaches to observe microorganisms, stimulating scientific curiosity. - **Onsen (Hot Spring) Experience (Sept 1 – Sept 18):** Learning about Beppu's unique hot spring ecosystem and how people use geothermal heat, fostering multifaceted perspectives. - **Reflection and Expression (Nov):** Expressing experiences through their own 'lens' and receiving expert feedback to boost self-confidence.

**2. Talent Record: 'Notice Note'** Staff detailedly observe activities based on Innoqua's unique 'SICS' (Security/Immersion) indicators. These observations are compiled into a 'Notice Note,' an objective evaluation of what moment a child was most engaged in, visualizing talents previously unnoticed by the child or their guardians.