"I Dropped Out in 8th Grade and Opened a Cafe"…The 17-Year-Old CEO Breaking Stereotypes [Japanese Side]

Liked Chemistry but Didn't Fit School Life
Opening a 'Science Cafe' as a Gathering Place for Researchers

Although this is a 'latte story,' back when I was in school, there was a culture that emphasized perfect attendance with the mindset of 'even if you're sick, you should go to school and endure it.' In contrast, Japan has many students who do not attend school due to difficulties adapting, known as 'futoko.' While bullying is one cause, there are various others such as inability to adjust to group life or excessive anxiety.

Does not going to school mean being forever cut off from studying? Breaking this stereotype, a 17-year-old owner who never went to school starting from middle school but instead opened a science cafe for everyone has become a hot topic in Japan. Today, we share the story of Miho Shimamoto, the owner of 'Fermi Cafe' in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Tsukuba City, where Fermi Cafe is located, is a planned city created for scientific research. It is home to 150 national and private research institutions, including Tsukuba University, and about 17,000 researchers live there. It is known as a reference for Korea when establishing the Daedeok Research Complex.

Miho Shimamoto appearing on a local radio show. (Photo by Fermi Cafe website)

Shimamoto opened her cafe on the first floor of a building here. True to the reputation of the research complex, the cafe displays experimental equipment such as beakers and flasks, as well as origami geometric shapes. Visitors can even try chemistry experiments at the cafe.

When asked about the reason for opening the cafe, Shimamoto replied, "Because I couldn't go to school." She originally loved science, believing that "realizing the chemistry hidden in everyday life raises the resolution of how you see the world," but starting just before summer vacation in her second year of middle school, she experienced severe headaches whenever she went to school. She had difficulty with group life and felt that school was not a good fit for her.

Instead, her mother, who was in charge of science experience events held by public institutions or private organizations, entrusted Shimamoto with creating flyers and planning documents. Since she was very interested in science and math, this led her to think, "I want to hold events like this too." Although she did not attend school, she accumulated knowledge by watching videos and reading books at home.

A photo of a dodecahedron made of paper folding by a middle school 2nd-grade guest at Fermi Cafe. (Photo by Fermi Cafe X)

Starting last spring, she began holding origami classes to learn math using geometric shapes and experiments such as making batteries about once every two months by renting nearby cafes. As word spread, she eventually opened a real cafe. The cafe was named 'Fermi Cafe' after the Italian nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi. Above all, she hoped that "people who come to the cafe would not fear failure and would learn through trial and error."

True to its scientific city roots, the cafe has transformed into a place where middle school students and adults discuss quantum mechanics, and IT industry people meet and chat. Nowadays, since Shimamoto attends a correspondence high school where she takes online lectures and earns a degree, the cafe is closed from Monday to Wednesday. Instead, she fills the schedule with chemistry experiment classes and guest lectures from experts in other fields, creating a diverse program.

Handmade Battery Making Program held at Fermi Cafe. (Photo by Fermi Cafe X)

The cafe has become a place where participants repeatedly try and err to find solutions to various challenges such as 'cutting a cake into exactly seven equal parts' and 'making a regular pentagon with origami.' Finding answers is not limited to scientific problems. Students who refuse to attend school and are in situations similar to Shimamoto’s also come to the cafe and open their hearts.

Shimamoto told NHK, "I hope this becomes a place where people learn how to learn, rather than a place where teachers just teach unilaterally."