Yasu Gakuen University International High School to Establish "SUP Division" in April Yori Taguchi, the world's top ranker at just 20 years old, is appointed as the general director.

The Top Athletes Training Course at Yashugakuen International High School (wide-area correspondence course, regular course) aims to nurture and produce human resources who can be active on a world-class level by identifying the "Monbushido" (the way of both literary and military arts) that each student should aim for in each sport. We are currently active in three divisions: Martial Arts, Baseball, and Athletics.

The new "SUP division" will be established in April 2024, with Rai Taguchi, a world-class professional stand-up paddleboarder who has won several SUP (stand-up paddleboarding) competitions, as its general director.

What is SUP competition?

Although SUP is not an Olympic sport and has a strong image as a leisure sport, the International Surfing Federation and the International Canoeing Federation have high expectations for the future of SUP, and are discussing the possibility of making SUP an Olympic sport at international trials, so it is a sport that is expected to attract a lot of attention in the future.

Yori Taguchi, SUP Division Director of Yasu Gakuen(1)

Yori Taguchi, SUP Division Supervisor, Yasu Gakuen (2)

Message from Mr. Yori Taguchi, SUP Division Supervisor

My name is Yori Taguchi, and I graduated from Yasu Gakuen University International High School's performing arts class two years ago!

The biggest thing I gained from SUP competition is confidence.

SUP in the great outdoors is a fun and exciting sport. Of course, there are times when you really have to fight against nature, but when you get over that, it gives you a lot of confidence.

Through SUP, I hope to teach everyone about the power and greatness of nature, as well as the skills and mentality to deal with it.

Yori Taguchi, Director of SUP Division, Yasu Gakuen (3)

SUP Division: Mr. Ambero Miyahira

Kotaro Miyahira, a first-year student at Yasu Gakuen University International High School, hails from Zamami Village in Okinawa Prefecture, where SUP competitions are popular. 7th place in technical and 11th place in sprint in the men's junior U-18 class at the SUP World Championships in Pattaya.

Mr. Amber Miyahira, Yasu Gakuen SUP Division

Application Period(*Entrance is open to students from all over Japan. Please contact Yasu Gakuen International High School for details)

Application Period

Mr. Rai Taguchi's achievement...Representative of Japan in two world championships of ISA and ICF.

Participated in domestic and international competitions, held paddle clinics (SUP technique training sessions), participated in the World Tour overseas, represented Japan at two World Championships, held training camps for junior development in Japan, held training camps for junior development and representative athletes from overseas, and also participated in a local event with his father and brother in Nakijin, Okinawa Prefecture. He is also an apprentice fisherman with his father and brother at the Nakijin Fisheries Cooperative Association as a local resident of Nakijin Village, Okinawa Prefecture.

In 2023, he won the ISA (International Surfing Association) World Championships.

Technical (bronze medal), distance (bronze medal), national team (bronze medal)

International Canoe Federation (ICF) SUP World Championships, 2023

Sprint (7th), Distance (bronze medal), Technical (4th), Men's Team Distance (gold medal), Men's Team Technical (gold medal)

Yashima Gakuen University International High School (Principal: Shigeki Nakamura)

The "first" correspondence high school in Japan opened for short-term intensive schooling. The school is located in Motobu-cho, Okinawa, and students from all over Japan can enroll.

School Outline

Name: Yasu Gakuen International High School

Principal: Shigeki Nakamura

Location: 1249 Bise, Motobu-cho, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa

Opened: April 2000

URL ： https://www.yashima.ac.jp/okinawa/