ZEALS Launches "AI Principal Mr. Namai" Free of Charge, an AI Avatar for Entrepreneurship Education Based on the Practical Knowledge of a Current Principal, a First in the Education Industry (※)

ZEALS Inc. (Location: Meguro-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Masahiro Shimizu; hereinafter "ZEALS"), which develops the multimodal AI agent platform "Omakase AI," has announced the launch of "AI Principal Mr. Namai," an AI avatar based on the knowledge, experience, values, and educational philosophy of Shuichi Namai, Principal of Ibaraki Prefectural Shimotsuma Daiichi High School and Representative of the Entrepreneurship Lab. This service, utilizing the company's conversational AI avatar "Omakase AI Avatar," became available on July 7, 2026.

"AI Principal Mr. Namai" is a conversational AI avatar that has learned the insights and practical experience related to entrepreneurship education with the consent and supervision of Principal Namai himself. Educators and parents can receive advice based on Principal Namai's educational philosophy and practical knowledge anytime, anywhere, through natural voice conversations.

Experience "AI Principal Mr. Namai" here.

This initiative is an empirical project that utilizes AI technology to address "entrepreneurship education" (hereinafter "entre-education"), which is becoming increasingly important in society but for which learning methods, practical approaches, and consultation channels are not yet sufficiently established in educational settings and homes.

"AI Principal Mr. Namai" is an AI avatar that embodies the insights of Mr. Namai, who has emphasized entre-education as the principal of Shimotsuma Daiichi High School and was selected as one of the "100 Teachers Lighting the Future" for entrepreneurship education by Forbes JAPAN in 2026.

Educators and parents can consult with an AI that has learned Principal Namai's educational philosophy and practical knowledge 24 hours a day, regardless of time or location. Furthermore, by recreating Principal Namai's appearance, voice, and movements, the aim is to provide an experience that goes beyond mere information provision, allowing users to feel his passion, speaking style, and dedication to education.

※ According to ZEALS research. As a public service where an AI avatar modeled after a current principal of an elementary, junior high, or high school in Japan interactively communicates with users via voice and answers consultations on entrepreneurship education based on the principal's knowledge, experience, and educational philosophy. As of July 7, 2026.

Demo video of Mr. Namai himself x AI Principal Mr. Namai

Social Background and Field Challenges for the Promotion of Entre-Education

Due to declining birthrates, advancements in AI and digital technologies, and changes in industrial structure, society increasingly demands not only the ability to memorize correct answers but also the ability to formulate questions, identify challenges, and take action by involving others.

In this context, entre-education is gaining attention.

Entre-education is not solely for nurturing entrepreneurs. It is a learning approach that fosters the ability to formulate questions, identify challenges, and create new value by involving others in a rapidly changing society, and its importance is growing not only in school education but also in homes and businesses.

Movements to spread entre-education to schools and communities nationwide are also accelerating, such as the government's "Five-Year Plan for Startup Ecosystem Building" and the launch of the "Japan Entrepreneurship Alliance" by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

On the other hand, challenges remain in practice for educational sites and homes, even if the importance of entre-education is recognized. These include "not knowing how to incorporate it into schools or homes," "worrying about how to accept children's challenges and failures," and "differences in training and information sharing opportunities depending on the region or school size."

Overcoming these challenges requires not only conveying the importance of entre-education but also providing opportunities for educators and parents to consult on how to interact with children in actual practice.

Practice of Entre-Education Supported by "AI Principal Mr. Namai"

In recent years, initiatives to AI-ize the knowledge and thinking styles of experts and celebrities and offer consultations via text chat have been expanding. These initiatives are highly significant in making specialized knowledge more accessible to everyone.

However, in fields like entre-education, where supporting children's challenges and failures is crucial, it is important not only to acquire knowledge but also for the consultant to feel "I can probably do this" or "I will actually try it." While text-based communication can lead to understanding the content, it has limitations in conveying the speaker's facial expressions, tone of voice, pauses, and the warmth of encouragement.

"AI Principal Mr. Namai" is characterized by its ability to provide an experience that includes the speaker's passion, speaking style, and attitude towards education, which are difficult to convey through text alone, by recreating Principal Namai's appearance, voice, and movements. It aims not just to provide answers but to offer an opportunity for consultants to internalize entre-education and take the first step towards practice, while empathizing with their concerns.

What You Can Consult About with "AI Principal Mr. Namai"

1 How to foster children's initiative and willingness to take on challenges

You can consult about how to nurture children's ability to ask questions, take on challenges, and learn from failure. It provides an opportunity for teachers and parents to consider how to accept and support children's desire to "try something new."

2 Methods for introducing and practicing entre-education

You can consult about how to incorporate entre-education as learning that connects to school settings, homes, and future workplaces. Based on Principal Namai's practices at Shimotsuma Daiichi High School, you can gain hints for fostering the ability to ask questions and take action by involving others, such as connecting with inquiry-based learning, using local issues as subject matter, and collaborating with external organizations and companies.

3 Creating a culture that supports challenges

You can consult about creating an environment in schools, homes, and organizations where people can take on challenges without fear of failure. Based on Principal Namai's emphasis on "resilience" and the ability to choose and decide proactively, it provides an opportunity to consider how adults can support the challenges of children and younger generations.

4 Consultations on career and vocational education

Drawing on his experience in the EC and DX fields as a business professional and his perspective as a principal who has worked with students, you can consult about the skills required in the future society and career development. Through inquiry-based learning and entre-education, you can learn perspectives for children to forge their own paths in life.

About "Omakase AI Avatar"

"Omakase AI Avatar" is a service that recreates a person's knowledge, experience, speaking style, personality, etc., as an AI avatar and allows real-time interaction with users.

Click here for the Omakase AI Avatar service site.

Its characteristic is that it goes beyond simply generating a realistic AI avatar. No matter how realistic the avatar is, if it only reads pre-prepared text unidirectionally, it does not constitute a true consultation experience. What is important is the ability to draw out unspoken worries, anxieties, and underlying issues through interactive and natural dialogue with the user, and to connect them to learning and practical hints tailored to each situation.

"Omakase AI Avatar" combines voice interaction with visual and sensory expressions such as facial expressions, nodding, eye contact, and conversational pauses, creating a sense of security and ease of consultation that is difficult to achieve with text or voice alone. This realizes a natural and friendly conversational experience online, as if consulting with the person themselves.

Beyond generation, the "Omakase AI Avatar" platform allows for integrated management of avatar personality settings, conversation experience design, knowledge bases, consultation themes, and dialogue scenarios. This enables the implementation and continuous operation of the knowledge, experience, and values of experts and educators on an avatar.

In the current initiative of "AI Principal Mr. Namai," Principal Namai's knowledge, experience, and educational philosophy, along with his entrepreneurial insights cultivated as a business person and his practical knowledge gained from working with students in educational settings, have been implemented as a conversational AI avatar for educators and parents to consult with anytime.

Future Prospects of "AI Principal Mr. Namai"

ZEALS will continue to promote an environment where educators and parents interested in entre-education can access practical knowledge without being constrained by time or location, through "AI Principal Mr. Namai."

Initially, based on the consultation content received from educational sites and homes, the range of consultable themes will be expanded to include introduction methods for entre-education, connections with inquiry-based learning, ways to foster children's initiative, and career education.

ZEALS will continue to leverage "Omakase AI Avatar" to deliver the knowledge, experience, and values of experts and educators as a conversational experience that anyone can easily consult with, thereby expanding the possibilities for new AI applications in the educational field.

Comment from Principal Namai

I believe that what is important in education is to foster children's ability to believe in their own potential and to take on challenges.

Entre-education is not just about nurturing entrepreneurs. It is an education that fosters the ability to ask one's own questions, learn from failure, and create new value together with peers.

On the other hand, I believe that many teachers and parents in educational settings feel its importance but are unsure how to implement it.

I find it highly meaningful that my own experiences and thoughts can be delivered to many people as an AI avatar. I would be happy if it could serve as a support for teachers and parents nationwide in supporting children's challenges.

Ibaraki Prefectural Shimotsuma Daiichi High School Principal Shuichi Namai

Related Information about Principal Namai

About Entrepreneurship Lab

Entrepreneurship Lab is an official website headed by Shuichi Namai, aimed at disseminating information and sharing practical knowledge about entre-education. Under the purpose of "LEAD YOURSELF: I want you to lead your own life," the website disseminates information on entrepreneurial spirit, leadership, and the importance of experiential learning.

The "AI Principal Mr. Namai" service, which is now being launched, is an initiative to deliver Mr. Namai's ideas disseminated through Entrepreneurship Lab, as well as the practical knowledge cultivated in educational and business settings, as a conversational experience that educators and parents can consult with more easily.

Company Overview of ZEALS

Company Name: ZEALS Inc. Established: April 1, 2014 Capital: 100 million yen Location: 1-8-1 Shimomeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Arco Tower 6F Representative: Representative Director Masahiro Shimizu Business Activities: Development and provision of Omakase AI, Omakase OS, ZEALS AI Agent, etc. HP: https://zeals.ai/jp/ Omakase AI: https://www.omakase.ai/jp Omakase Robotics: https://www.omakase.ai/robotics