SAPPORO –
A plan to open an international school at a former elementary school in Sapporo has been scrapped after the company selected as the preferred buyer withdrew, citing risks posed by misinformation and protest activity.
Sapporo had invited proposals for the sale of the former Tokiwa Elementary School in Minami Ward, which closed in 2021, and selected Tokyo-based Global Indian Education as the preferred negotiating party.
The company planned to use the existing school building and open an international school in the summer of 2027.
However, it relinquished its negotiating rights on July 23, saying it had considered the risks that “the spread of false information and protest activities could pose to the operation of the school.”
Nobuki Kobayashi, director of the Sapporo municipal government’s urban planning division, said one example of the misinformation was the claim that the facility would be “a school exclusively for Indian students.”
Daisuke Sato, a section chief in the city’s international affairs division, said it was “extremely regrettable” that the company had withdrawn because the city had been unable to adequately communicate accurate information to residents and people involved in the protests.
Sapporo said it will now begin discussions with the next-ranked negotiating party, a social welfare corporation that proposed using the former school for facilities including a community cafe.
Source: 北海道ニュースUHB
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