Josuikan’s First Championship in Its 37th Year and the Halving of Seira High School’s Enrollment—Hiroshima’s ‘Nurturing System’ is Shaking

In the same week, two pieces of news arrived from Hiroshima. One was that the Josuikan High School soccer team, in its 37th year since its establishment, won the prefectural qualifiers and secured its first appearance in the National High School Soccer Championship. The other was a proposal from the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education to halve the enrollment of Seira High School’s general studies program. One story represents a case where “the system has borne fruit,” while the other indicates “the foundation of the system is being eroded”—when these two are placed side by side, the tremors beneath the surface of high school sports in Hiroshima become visible.

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The Gears That Started Turning After 37 Years—Josuikan’s First Championship

The Josuikan High School (Mihara City) soccer team defeated Hiroshima Kaimin High School 3-1 in the prefectural finals. Hiroshima Kaimin is a perennial contender in national tournaments and one of the top teams in the prefecture, having won the national championship in 2006. Against such an opponent, Josuikan took control from the first half, scoring three goals through set plays and counterattacks.

It is noteworthy that this victory is not a “sudden mutation.” Although Josuikan is a private school, it has not adopted a strategy of gathering players through a large number of sports scholarships. Instead, it has gradually accepted players primarily from local junior high schools in the Bingo region and club teams in Hiroshima Prefecture, building the team over three years. Looking at the results of the prefectural qualifiers over the past decade, the number of years in which they reached the top eight has gradually increased, and since the 2020s, they have consistently been among the top four. The figure of 37 years is long, but within it lies a blueprint for development that has been built up incrementally.

After the match, one player expressed a desire to report this achievement to the alumni who have been involved over the years. Graduates from 37 years have supported this team as practice match opponents, coaches, or spectators in the stands. It was not an explosion of individual talent, but rather the system that made a full rotation—this reading is closer to the essence of this first championship.

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What the Halving of Enrollment Means—Seira High School and the Ecosystem of Ekiden

Seira High School (Sera County, Sera Town) boasts ten national championships for boys and one for girls in the National High School Ekiden. A regular presence on the national stage, the name “Seira” is etched into the history of high school ekiden. A proposal has emerged within the discussions of the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education to halve the enrollment of Seira High School’s general studies program from the current four classes of approximately 160 students per grade to two classes of about 80 students.

The background to this is the declining population of Sera Town. As of 2024, the population of Sera Town is about 15,000, down more than 30% from around 22,000 in the early 2000s. The number of graduates from local junior high schools continues to decline, and the actual number of new students enrolling at Seira High School has already fallen below the capacity in recent years. From the perspective of the prefectural board, this is a rational decision for “adjusting enrollment to match reality,” appearing reasonable on paper.

However, the reduction in enrollment is not just a numerical adjustment. The strength of the ekiden team does not rely solely on “specialized runners.” Managers, support members, practice partners, and even general students who are not part of the ekiden team create a culture of support within the school, standing along the local roads to send off the athletes. If the overall size of the school shrinks, that ecosystem becomes thinner.

Moreover, halving the enrollment reduces the signal strength of “if you come to this school, you will find companions.” When junior high school students aiming for national competition choose their high school, the size and vibrancy of the school become factors in their decision-making. There is no guarantee that the same number of applicants will gather at a school with half the enrollment. If the entrance to the system narrows, it will also affect the exit—meaning the competitive results. This psychological change begins not years later, but the moment the reorganization is decided.

In the local community, residents have initiated a petition drive to seek the school’s continuation, and discussions continue in the town council. “This is not just about ekiden. If the school disappears, the future of the town becomes unclear”—the words of one resident succinctly highlight the questions that lie beyond the halving of enrollment.

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The Numbers Speak of Structure—The Current State of High School Students and Club Activities in Hiroshima Prefecture

The number of high school students (full-time) in Hiroshima Prefecture has decreased from about 72,000 in 2010 to about 58,000 in 2023, a reduction of approximately 20%. This trend aligns with a national pattern, but in Hiroshima Prefecture, the speed of decline in the northern and island regions significantly exceeds that of urban areas. While cities like Hiroshima and Fukuyama have seen only slight decreases, it is not uncommon for municipalities in mountainous areas like Sera Town to have fewer than 30 graduates from local junior high schools in a single grade.

The impact on club activities has already become apparent. The number of schools affiliated with the Hiroshima Prefectural High School Athletic Federation has decreased over the past decade due to mergers and consolidations, leading to an increase in schools that cannot form independent teams and must compete as combined teams. In team sports such as soccer, baseball, and basketball, the reality of “not having 11 players” or “barely having 9” is spreading, particularly in the northern regions of the prefecture.

In this context, placing Josuikan and Seira side by side reveals a structure. Josuikan is a private school located in Mihara City, which is a mid-sized city in Hiroshima Prefecture. Being a private institution allows it the flexibility to accept students from across the prefecture—and sometimes even from outside the prefecture. The nurturing system built over 37 years has functioned precisely because of this “breadth of acceptance.” On the other hand, Seira High School is a public school, primarily attended by local students. As the local population decreases, the size of the school also shrinks. The nurturing capacity of public schools is directly tied to the demographic dynamics of the region.

In other words, the success of Josuikan and the plight of Seira reflect the structural asymmetries faced by high school sports in Japan, such as “private vs. public,” “urban vs. rural,” and “flexibility vs. constraints.”

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Who Benefits from the ‘Nurturing System’?

What Josuikan has proven over 37 years is that it is not flashy reinforcements but the continuity of the system that yields results. Small annual improvements, maintaining relationships with alumni, and connecting with local clubs—each of these is a modest task, but when accumulated, they can open the door to the national stage. This system does not depend on specific renowned coaches or genius athletes. That is why it can be sustained.

Seira High School’s ekiden has also been a product of the system. The culture of long-distance running has taken root in the town, with guidance focused on ekiden starting from physical education classes in junior high school, culminating in success in high school—this cycle has supported their ten national championships. Halving the enrollment will narrow part of this cycle. Water cannot flow through a narrowed pipe at the same volume as before.

The crux of the issue boils down to who bears the “cost of maintaining the system.” For the prefectural board, continuing to maintain an enrollment that does not match the number of students is financially inefficient. However, as a result of reducing the enrollment, if the competitiveness of the ekiden team declines, Seira High School’s recognition diminishes, and the motivation for relocation or enrollment in the town decreases—these costs do not appear in the educational budget’s ledger.

While applauding Josuikan’s first championship, if we dismiss the halving of Seira’s enrollment as “inevitable,” we are consuming the fruits of the system without paying attention to the foundation that supports it.

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Points of Future Attention

Regarding Josuikan, while their performance in the national tournament is indeed noteworthy, what deserves attention is “the year following their first appearance.” Whether they can maintain a team of the same caliber after the generation that experienced the national stage graduates—this will test the true value of the system.

For Seira High School, the focus will be on when the prefectural board will make its final decision and how discussions will balance “the scale of the school” with “the functions of the community” during that process. Even if enrollment is reduced, how to design the acceptance framework for club activities, including the ekiden team, and whether there is room to introduce a dormitory system or a wide-area recruitment system—there is a need for design aimed at preserving, not just cutting.

High school sports in Hiroshima are caught in an irreversible flow of population decline. While we cannot resist this flow, we can choose what systems to preserve and what new systems to create within it. As Josuikan has demonstrated over 37 years, systems take time to develop. Therefore, we must be cautious when dismantling them.

The backs of the Josuikan athletes standing on the national stage and the sash of Seira, which has continued to run on the national roads—both have been supported by invisible arrangements and the warmth of the local community.