JR East Startup Co., Ltd.
“Barrier-free e-sports school” where you can learn barrier-free e-sports from professional athletes will be held for the first time at Cafe & Bar RAGE ST at JR Ikebukuro Station!
~ Business co-creation by JR East Group x ePARA ~
……
●JR East Startup Co., Ltd. (Representative Director and President: Yutaka Shibata) and ePARA Co., Ltd. (Representative Director: Daiki Kato) will conduct an e-sports facility called “Cafe & Bar RAGE ST” where people with disabilities will serve as instructors and explain the appeal of barrier-free e-sports. We will hold the “1st
Barrier-Free eSports School,” an exchange event where we will give lectures on how to operate the equipment, techniques, etc.
●This time, barrier-free e-sports players with disabilities from ePARA will serve as instructors and give lectures on two types of game titles to approximately 20 participants who have applied in advance. ●This is the second phase of a demonstration experiment in business co-creation between the JR East Group and ePARA, and from now on, we will use esports as a starting point to create work and interaction opportunities regardless of whether or not they have a disability, and create a society where everyone can shine. We will continue to work towards achieving this goal.
*Barrier-free e-sports is an original word proposed by ePARA Co., Ltd., meaning “e-sports that are held in an environment where anyone can participate regardless of age, gender, time, location, or disability.”
[Image 1: https://prtimes.jp/i/34286/267/resize/d34286-267-26c6b8d286e2be0485a9-0.png&s3=34286-267-dfb6969800ad7e31321e1482d6b6719f-213×114.png ]
▲Interior view of Cafe & Bar RAGE ST 2nd floor
[Image 2: https://prtimes.jp/i/34286/267/resize/d34286-267-dfd5f3228391a59d2d25-0.jpg&s3=34286-267-0c6cb4211fd1eb983ccf4160e468e47d-210×114.jpg] ▲A visually impaired athlete (left) is teaching
1. Event overview
■Date and time: Friday, May 24, 2024 13:00-17:00
■Venue: Cafe & Bar RAGE ST 2nd floor (JR Ikebukuro Station East Exit) ■Planned titles: Fighting game, soccer game (Steam)
■Participants: teachers and students of special needs schools, users and staff of employment support facilities, companies promoting employment of people with disabilities, etc.
■Instructor: Barrier-free e-sports player from ePARA
■Schedule
13:00-13:30 Opening
13:30-14:50 1st title “Fighting Game” (planned)
14:50-15:00 Break
15:00-16:10 2nd title “Soccer Game” (planned)
16:10-17:00 Photo shoot + closing
■Others
・One instructor will provide guidance to 1 to 2 participants. ・We do not invite participation or tours from the general public. Requests for tours by corporations/groups must be made by 5:00pm on Thursday, May 23rd.
Please apply using the tour application form
(https://forms.gle/q4pHUj9nuFsyL2vt6).
2. About JR East Startup Program
This is a program that solicits proposals for business services that utilize the JR East Group’s management resources and information assets from venture companies, etc., and after brushing up the proposals, the proposals will be realized. It was first held in 2017, and a total of 128 proposals have been adopted so far. We received the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award at the 1st Japan Open Innovation Awards in 2018, sponsored by the Cabinet Office, and the Minister of the Environment Award at the 3rd Japan Open Innovation Awards in 2020.
ePARA has been selected for the “JR East Startup Program 2023 Autumn” and we are proceeding with business co-creation under the theme of “realizing a cohesive society based on barrier-free e-sports.” Please refer to the press release
(https://jrestartup.co.jp/news/2024/05/110040/) for details on DEMO DAY (presentation) to be distributed on Thursday, June 6, 2024. . 3. Background to the “Barrier-Free E-Sports School”
The JR East Group’s group management vision, “Transformation 2027,” aims to realize a fulfilling life for everyone by “creating new value and services centered on people.” On the other hand, ePARA aims to create a society in which all people can play an active role, regardless of whether they have a disability or not, and uses barrier-free esports as an opportunity to promote individual skill development and the creation of job opportunities.
This “barrier-free e-sports school” will be a demonstration experiment to verify how the JR East Group can approach the promotion of diversity and inclusion in areas along its railway lines.
4. About Cafe&Bar RAGE ST
[Image 3: https://prtimes.jp/i/34286/267/resize/d34286-267-f86f00fbb326f3b26c2b-0.png&s3=34286-267-b361c447a641abdde524d5783e9ac62b-175×109.png ]
A facility opened by three JR East Group companies: JR East Cross Station Co., Ltd., JR East Planning Co., Ltd., and JR East Sports Co., Ltd., and RAGE, one of Japan’s largest e-sports entertainment companies, to conduct new e-sports related businesses. is. It is a base for transmitting new e-sports culture, such as watching e-sports while enjoying authentic food and drinks at the cafe bar, and playing popular e-sports titles in a high-spec environment.
5. About ePARA Co., Ltd.
[Image 4: https://prtimes.jp/i/34286/267/resize/d34286-267-2e91e9f1d63cf5294b65-0.jpg&s3=34286-267-6d25df3f35ecf1d5460a2b97aa94cbdc-176×117.jpg] We are a startup company that promotes barrier-free esports with the statement “If you play seriously, tomorrow will change.” Aiming to create a society where everyone can shine, we are actively co-creating with people with disabilities through e-sports. In October last year, we held the e-sports exchange event “Shingan PARTY 2023 powered by JEXER” at the JEXER e-sports station JR Matsudo Station store, where players compete by judging the situation only by voice without using visual information.
For details, please refer to the event report
(https://epara.jp/shinganparty-yoshi-240119/).
[Overview of each company]
JR East Startup
Company name: JR East Startup Co., Ltd.
Location: 2-21-42 Takanawa, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Representative: President and CEO Yutaka Shibata Established: February 2018 Business content: Investigation and discovery of business seeds and cutting-edge technologies, investment in venture companies, and promotion of collaboration with JR East Group
URL: https://jrestartup.co.jp/
ePARA
Company name: ePARA Co., Ltd.
Location: 1-14-8 Shimomae, Toda City, Saitama Prefecture
Representative: Representative Director Daiki Kato Established: November 2016 Business details: Barrier-free e-sports planning and operation and support for people with disabilities
URL: https://epara.co.jp/
This article has been partially generated with the assistance of AI.