HIMEJI COMMERCIAL HIGH SCHOOL
Create with information technology. Deliver value with a business perspective.
Studying information science begins the moment you meet something you love and ask, "Why?" and "How would I do it?"
AI, games, apps, robots, 3D fabrication, music, design. The Information Science Department starts from everyday interests and questions, teaches how information technology works, and helps students turn their ideas into reality and deliver them to people and society.
This is about much more than operating a computer. Students write programs, make machines move, analyze data, and create works and services. By thinking about why something did not work and improving it with classmates, they develop the ability to find and solve problems.
On top of that, students take subjects unique to a commercial high school, such as bookkeeping, accounting, cost accounting and business. The "power to create" through information technology, and the "power to deliver value" through business studies: gaining both is what makes the Information Science Department at Himeji Commercial High School distinctive.
We don't just memorize knowledge and then practice it. Because students try things with their own hands, they can see why something doesn't work, and how technology works becomes their own understanding.
Hands-on work reveals the society of the future. Working with your hands is itself a way of thinking.
In the Information Science Department, students learn across three specialized fields.
Students study programming, AI, data use, software, networks and information security, building the ability to process information and create new systems.
Collect → Organize → Analyze → Interpret → DecideStudents study hardware, electronic circuits, computer systems, sensors and device control, and learn how computers and machines actually work.
Turning commands on a screen into real-world motionStudents study bookkeeping, financial accounting, cost accounting, information processing and business, thinking about costs, products, users and sales.
Growing "it works" into "I want to use it, it's useful"We don't stop at building technology. We think all the way through to "who it is for, and what value it delivers."
IT, engineering and business don't end as separate subjects. When individual technologies are connected, they become a single product, service or form of expression that reaches people and society as value.
Because no single strength is enough on its own, classmates' different strengths connect and turn into new value that helps society.
Students in the Commerce Department can also study IT subjects such as information processing and programming. The difference between the two departments is not whether or not they study IT.
Students study four fields broadly, "marketing," "management," "bookkeeping and accounting" and "business information," gaining knowledge and practical skills they can use in society and business.
Information technology is at the center of all three years, deepening step by step into programming, hardware, computer systems, networks and software applications. At the same time, students also take business subjects such as bookkeeping and accounting.
Learning information technology from how it works, and applying it to society with a business perspective: that is what defines the Information Science Department.
Start with the basics, combine technologies, and finally deliver your own works and research to society.
1ST YEAR
Turning what you love into the question "Why?"
Main subjects: programming, hardware technology, bookkeeping, business basics, and more
Through hands-on practice, students learn from the ground up the order and conditions in which programs run, the parts and circuits that make up a computer, and the basics of business transactions. Even without prior knowledge, they can turn everyday questions into simple tasks and check them one step at a time.
2ND YEAR
Try, fail, find the cause, and improve
Main subjects: information processing, practical training, computer system technology, Financial Accounting I, cost accounting, and more
By combining computers, networks, software and sensors, students collect information, organize and analyze it, interpret trends, and develop systems that control devices. Based on results and costs, they improve their systems to be safe, easy to use and fit for purpose.
3RD YEAR
Connecting technologies and teammates to reach people and society
Main subjects: software applications, network applications, practical training, research project, and more
Students choose the technologies they need from AI, programming, the web, networks, 3D, design, music and more, and repeatedly research, plan, produce, test, present and improve. Taking in the reactions of users and society, they complete a single work or research project together with their teammates.
From passion to questions. From questions to creation. From creation to value that reaches society.
* Based on the curriculum for students entering in the 2026 school year.
Beyond learning technologies, students understand how they work, combine different areas of learning, and deliver real works and products to society.
Our lives are supported by many information technologies: transportation, logistics, healthcare, finance, disaster prevention, education, shopping, communication and more. But technology is not good enough just because it works. It matters that it is safe to use, reaches the people who need it, and solves problems in society.
In the Information Science Department's hands-on classes, students don't just learn how to operate equipment. They consider "who this technology is for, and what it is meant to improve." Select a heading to open and read the details.
Students control line-tracing cars, robots, drones and more with programs they write themselves. By thinking about the order and conditions of each action and repeatedly revising while checking results, they learn how code turns into real movement.
Program-based control is used in areas tied to people's lives and safety: cars, factories, logistics, agriculture, healthcare and disaster surveys. Breaking a goal into small steps, anticipating possible failures and figuring out how to operate safely builds the ability to think logically and take responsibility for results.
From the classroom to society: line tracing leads to autonomous driving and logistics; robots to manufacturing, healthcare, caregiving and disaster response; drones to surveying, agriculture, inspection and disaster surveys.
Students actually build IoT systems, which send sensor data over a network to control devices, as well as client-server systems. They learn what path information takes, where it is processed, and how it is protected.
In today's society, when networks go down, much of the work of hospitals, transportation, finance, government, schools and homes cannot continue. The more connected we become, the more important it is to guard against unauthorized access and data leaks. By building and testing systems themselves, students gain the knowledge and sense of responsibility to protect society's invisible infrastructure.
From the classroom to society: IoT leads to smart homes, agriculture, energy management and monitoring services; networks form the foundation of healthcare, finance, government and transportation.
Students learn the roles of the CPU, memory, storage, power supply, electronic components and circuits, and take on PC building and electronics projects. They connect components and, when something doesn't work, check the wiring and settings one by one to find the cause.
AI and software also run on physical devices such as computers, sensors and power supplies. Understanding what's inside lets students choose the right equipment for the purpose, think about the causes of failures and malfunctions, and handle devices safely. This is the foundation for system development, manufacturing, maintenance and IT support.
From the classroom to society: electronic circuits lead to cars, medical devices, home appliances and energy facilities; PC building leads to development, maintenance and IT support.
Using programming, HTML, CSS and more, students create web pages and applications while considering screen readability, ease of operation and the order of information. Once finished, they improve them based on feedback from real users.
No matter how good a technology or piece of information is, it has no value if the people who need it cannot find it or don't know how to use it. By considering people of different ages, experience and devices, and designing so that anyone can use it easily, students learn the thinking behind information services that support businesses, government, education and communities.
From the classroom to society: building websites and apps leads to "services that the people who need them can actually use," supporting businesses, government, education and local communities.
Students create characters, animations, posters and more, working carefully with text, color, photos, motion and the order of information. They think about "who to tell, what, and how," and create expression that leads viewers to understand and act.
The appeal of a product or a tourist spot, disaster information, public services and learning content are useful only when they are not just correct but actually understood. Students learn design not as decoration but as a technology that connects people and information, building the ability to organize content and express it from the audience's point of view.
From the classroom to society: design, video and animation turn disaster preparedness, tourism, public information and products into people's understanding and action.
Working with the local community, universities and experts, students tackle problems that have no single answer. Listening to users and repeatedly researching, planning, producing, presenting, evaluating and improving, they complete one result together with teammates who have different strengths.
In the real world, products and services are made by people in different roles working together: engineers, designers, planners and users. By practicing communicating their ideas, listening to others, fulfilling their roles and improving from failure, students gain the collaborative skills to put their knowledge to use in society.
From the classroom to society: the cycle of research, production, communication and improvement becomes the ability to act on the "problems without answers yet" facing communities and society.
LEARNING THAT REACHES SOCIETY
Prompted by a visit to areas hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake and by disaster-preparedness lessons at school, students turned their attention to the threat that the chimes of disaster-prevention radio broadcasts might disappear, and produced the TV documentary "Disaster-Prevention Radio Chimes on the Verge of Disappearing!?"
The work and the students' activities were featured on TV programs and in newspapers, prompting local residents to think about disaster preparedness. This is not just a story about awards or media coverage. It is a real example of learning that went from asking a question, to combining technology and expression, to making an impact on society.
When you love something, you want to try just a little more. That curiosity becomes the ability to keep learning on your own.
Sparked by technologies they discover in class, more and more students keep researching, experimenting and creating on their own outside class hours, such as after school.
"I want to make it move exactly the way I want."
"I want to try another approach, too."
"I want to finish it as my own work."
These feelings lead to self-directed learning. The attitude and skills to go beyond reproducing what you were taught, to find the knowledge you need on your own, and to keep experimenting are a great strength in a society where technology never stops changing.
Rather than stopping at knowledge, students build up three years of learning that runs from thinking with data to prototyping, improving and sharing their work with their teammates.
Understanding IT from how it worksProgramming, hardware, networks, AI, information security and more are understood by connecting them to hands-on practice.
Interpreting data and combining technologiesStudents collect, organize and analyze information to find trends and make evidence-based decisions, then combine the results with programs, devices, 3D, the web, design and more to create works and systems.
Thinking about users and businessThrough bookkeeping, accounting, cost accounting and business, students consider costs, products, users, sales and social value.
Problem solving through repeated prototyping and improvementFailure is not the end: students find the cause, try another approach, and improve toward something better.
Learning independently and delivering to society with teammatesStudents find the information they need on their own, work with teammates who have different strengths, and present their works and research clearly.
The specialist knowledge, qualifications, problem-solving skills, business perspective and communication skills gained in the Information Science Department lead to both further education and employment.
Students can go on to study information science, engineering, business management, education and more at university, or IT, design, music, business and more at vocational schools.
Students can aim for a wide range of careers, including systems engineer, programmer, IT support, manufacturing and technical roles, IT and administrative departments at companies, and public service.
By studying not only information technology but also accounting and business, students don't limit their future to a single field, and can broaden their options to match their own interests and goals.
Ask questions, create, run, improve and deliver to society. That accumulation leads to solid career paths and foundational skills demonstrated by nationwide standards.
The Information Science Department is not just about learning job-ready skills and qualifications. By building both academic fundamentals in general subjects and specialized learning in IT, engineering and business, it develops the ability to go on to higher education, including national and public universities.
Although the Information Science Department has one-fifth as many classes as the Commerce Department, the same number of students, 18, went on to national or public universities. In a simple comparison as a share of graduates, the Information Science Department's rate is about five times that of the Commerce Department.
The logical thinking, problem-solving and inquiry skills developed in specialized subjects are linked with academic ability in general subjects and career guidance to support each student's university goals.
* Results for graduates in spring 2026. Because each department differs in content and intended pathways, the percentages are a simple comparison using the number of graduates as the denominator. Results vary from year to year.
Students study programming, algorithms, hardware, networks, databases, information security, corporate activities, accounting and more, step by step.
These areas are closely linked to the fields covered by the national Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination. Rather than aiming only to earn qualifications, students understand how things work in class and verify it through hands-on practice, building the foundation needed to take on national examinations.
IT Passport Examination: 23 students.
More than half of the class has passed.
We don't make earning qualifications an end in itself. At the same time, confirming the skills gained in hands-on classes against a nationwide standard, and feeling one's own growth, is very meaningful. Passing becomes a new starting point for more specialized creation and inquiry.
This shows that it is not just a few students taking on qualifications, but that foundational IT skills have spread across the whole class, and from there, students are growing into specialized fields such as development and information security.
A major feature of the Information Science Department is that each student can take on progressively higher-level national examinations, from basic to specialized, according to their learning stage and career goals.
According to the School Basic Survey for FY2025 by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), 2,873,619 students, roughly 2.87 million, are enrolled in high schools across Japan. Meanwhile, the number of high school students nationwide who passed the Information Technology Engineers Examinations in the same year was as follows.
Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination 1,032 passed (pass rate among examinees: 31.1%)
About 0.036% of all high school students, or roughly 1 in 2,800 per yearInformation Security Management Examination 353 passed (pass rate among examinees: 49.5%)
About 0.012% of all high school students, or roughly 1 in 8,140 per yearIT Passport Examination 3,461 passed (pass rate among examinees: 24.9%)
About 0.12% of all high school students, or roughly 1 in 830 per yearBy contrast, at our school, out of a class of about 40 students, 23 passed the IT Passport Examination, 5 passed the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination, and 3 passed the Information Security Management Examination. Because national rankings by school are not published, we cannot rank ourselves, but this is a substantial record showing that foundational IT skills have spread across the whole class, and that a group of students is also advancing to more specialized examinations.
* Figures such as 0.12% are not "the percentage of high school students currently holding the qualification," but the number of high school students who passed during FY2025 as a share of all high school students nationwide. The total number of current high school students holding each qualification is not published, so these are not holding rates.
IPA (Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan) describes the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination as "the gateway to becoming an IT engineer." The Information Technology Engineers Examinations also serve as a common benchmark for IT knowledge and skills, used not only for staff development at companies but also in hiring decisions, qualification allowances and one-time bonuses.
In addition, in IPA's "DX Trends 2025" report, 85.1% of Japanese companies reported a shortage of people to drive digital transformation. Not only IT companies but every sector, from manufacturing and retail to finance and government, needs people who understand and can use digital technology.
In this environment, passing a national examination while in high school is not a self-reported claim of having studied, but means being able to prove foundational IT skills against a nationwide standard before entering university or the workforce. The great value of passing as a teenager is that, instead of starting from the basics after entering university or a company, students can move on sooner to more practical learning in programming, AI, information security, system development and more.
Qualifications alone do not decide your future. However, by adding hands-on practice, creative work, problem solving and communication experience on top of the foundational knowledge proven by a qualification, students aiming for IT can begin building a specialized career earlier than their peers. Our pass record is not just a set of numbers; it is proof that students are broadening their options and possibilities for the future while still in their teens.
Sources (in Japanese): MEXT School Basic Survey FY2025 / IPA Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination statistics / IPA Information Security Management Examination statistics / IPA IT Passport Examination statistics / IPA Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination / IPA Use by companies and organizations / IPA DX Trends 2025
* Our school's figures show the number of passes for each examination; the same student may have passed more than one. National figures combine IPA's four high school categories (information, commerce, engineering, general, etc.).
Information technology & engineering
IT Passport Examination / Information Security Management Examination / Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination / Applied Information Technology Engineer Examination / MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist)
Business
Information Processing Test / Practical Bookkeeping Test / Nissho Bookkeeping Test (Japan Chamber of Commerce) / Practical Business Calculation Test / Practical Business Document Test
It's okay if you don't know much about computers right now.
The "Why?" you feel when you meet something you love.
The "I want to try" when you imagine how you'd make it.
That small question is the starting point of three years of learning.
The Information Science Department is not simply a place to become good with computers. It is a place to turn what you love into questions, explore how the world works with your own hands, connect different technologies and people, create new value, and deliver it to society.
From user to creator.
From creator to someone who delivers.
What you love becomes what you're good at.
What you're good at becomes your future path.
What we want to nurture here is not only technical skill.
"My ideas, too, have the power to help someone."
"By learning, I can shape my own future."
It is this sense of conviction.
OPEN HIGH SCHOOL
Event information
Application period: Thursday, October 1 – Monday, October 12, 2026 (public holiday)
Connect ideas inside the computer to things that really move and works you can hold.
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