Azalee Gakuen takes STEAM Childcare to Thailand and Indonesia

Azalee Gakuen has been selected for MEXT’s FY2026 EDU-Port Japan Support Project, opening the door for its STEAM Childcare early-learning method in Thailand and Indonesia. The expansion aims to test the approach with local partners, train teachers and build curricula in local languages.

Why it matters: - Azalee Gakuen’s selection gives Japanese-style early-childhood education a new overseas platform through MEXT’s EDU-Port Japan program. - The project could widen the reach of STEAM Childcare, a method built around curiosity, play and non-cognitive skills in the first six years of life. - The expansion targets Thailand and Indonesia, two countries where local adaptation will shape how the method is taught and scaled.

What happened: - Azalee Gakuen, based in Edogawa City, Tokyo, was selected for the FY2026 Support Project under EDU-Port Japan. - The school will bring its early-childhood method, STEAM Childcare, to Thailand and Indonesia. - Azalee Gakuen is led by CEO Koji Kurusu. - The project is led with the Azalee Group, which Azalee Gakuen forms with the social welfare corporation Koujukai.

The details: - Azalee Group says it has researched and practiced STEAM Childcare for years. - The overseas work will include joint research with local education institutions, model preschools, teacher training and curricula co-developed in local languages. - STEAM Childcare combines Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics ideas with how children develop from ages 0 to 6. - The method centers on active learning and edutainment. - Children are encouraged to ask their own questions, test ideas, talk with peers and repeat a cycle of notice, question, test, think and share. - Teachers are expected to explore questions alongside children rather than simply hand over answers. - The approach is used in everyday activities such as nature walks, science play, food education, art and movement. - Azalee Group managers began shaping the concept in 2019. - Group facilities began adopting and refining the method in 2021. - In 2022, Azalee signed an MOU with a university in Da Nang, Vietnam, and conducted lessons and teacher training on site. - The company says that work showed the method could work across different cultures and education systems. - The project in Thailand and Indonesia involves Tovic R. ST, founder and strategic advisor of the Sakuranesia Foundation, and Professor Vilas Wuwongse of Mahasarakham University’s Faculty of Medicine. - The STEAM Childcare trademark was registered in 2023. - The STEAM Childcare Research Society was established in April 2025 by the Azalee Group Future Creation Institute. - Professor Yasufumi Kawamura chairs the society. - Koji Kurusu and Mihoko Chiba, principal of Nagisa Kindergarten, serve as vice-chairs. - The society has about 100 corporate and individual members. - Fifteen preschools have adopted STEAM Childcare. - Kodansha published Mirai e Tsunagu STEAM Hoiku on May 29, 2025. - Azalee presented the method at the Hoikuhaku childcare expo in November 2025.

Between the lines: - The move is less about exporting a finished product and more about co-developing a teaching model with local educators. - Azalee’s messaging frames STEAM Childcare as a response to AI-driven change, where memorization matters less than initiative, creativity and collaboration. - The Vietnam trial appears to have served as the proof point for a broader regional rollout. - The emphasis on local language curricula suggests the company wants the method to be adapted, not transplanted.

What's next: - The next steps in Thailand and Indonesia are field surveys, model preschools, teacher training and local-language curricula. - Azalee says lessons learned abroad will feed back into how STEAM Childcare is run in Japan. - The company’s broader goal is to continue spreading the method while preserving each country’s education culture.

The bottom line: - Azalee Gakuen is using EDU-Port Japan to push a homegrown early-childhood model into Southeast Asia, with local partnerships at the center of the rollout.