Schoo

Schoo (スクー) is a Japanese online learning service for working adults, run by Schoo Inc. Its About page calls it a "みんなで学べる" live video learning service (one where everyone learns together) and sums up the offer as interactive live classes plus more than 9,000 recorded classes across a wide range of subjects. The tagline is 「一生学べる学校」, a school you can learn at for life. It serves individual learners who want practical skills for work, and through Schoo for Business it also serves companies that want a training library for their staff. Everything on the site is in Japanese, and the copyright line runs from 2011.

Live classes

Live broadcasts are the center of the service. The About page says "生放送は、365日。全て無料。" (live broadcasts, 365 days a year, all free) and that joining needs nothing more than registering as a member at no cost. Taking part is described in three steps: register, join when the class starts, and watch.

The home page explains why the live format matters. Point 1 says classes are a two-way live community: viewers' comments change the class, so each broadcast is original, and commenting is optional. Point 2 says the teacher poses questions and viewers think and answer, which builds thinking skills, and other viewers' opinions deepen the learning. The About page adds that learners can put questions to the teacher directly through the chat ("チャットから講師に直接質問ができます").

The live calendar shows how this plays out. Most broadcasts run in the evening, typically 20:00 to 21:00 and 21:00 to 22:00, with some lunchtime sessions at 12:00. In one week the schedule ran from intercultural management and research skills to a session on the "AI bubble" and investment, a monthly Excel technique class, and a three-step series on using RAG and notebook-style AI tools. Many late-evening slots are 【見逃し配信】 rebroadcasts of earlier classes for people who missed them.

The recorded library

Every live class is published as a recording afterward, and the recorded library is the paid side of Schoo. The About page promises "豊富なジャンルの9,000本以上の録画授業が見放題" (unlimited viewing of more than 9,000 recorded classes in many genres), to be watched at your own pace in spare moments. The home page puts it as 19 categories and more than 9,000 classes. The listed categories include business skills, thinking and self-development, management, marketing, UI and UX design, design, programming, development, DX, innovation, back-office functions, compliance and training, liberal arts, social issues and diversity, PC skills, career, money, English and other languages, and health care.

Premium members can change the playback speed of recordings and download classes in the app for offline viewing. Some classes are never broadcast live: the About page says these 録画限定授業 (recording-only classes) are open only to Premium members. A Premium shelf on the home page also offers a time-saving curriculum of 3-minute lessons from leading practitioners.

Not all recordings sit behind the paywall. The home page says more than 1,000 recorded classes useful to working people are free, that new live classes stay free for 30 days after they air, that the first lesson of every course is free, and that some classes can be watched without registering at all. The features page runs monthly promotions that open the previous month's top 10 classes for free for a limited period, plus themed collections such as five classes on presentation, writing and facilitation.

Schoo has added lighter formats too. A quiz section offers short quizzes on topics such as using generative AI correctly, reporting to a manager, anger control, logical thinking, business manners, harassment prevention and project management, and the menu lists a Training feature (marked NEW) and a "テキストで学ぶ" section for learning from text. The help center lists a clip function, AI transcription and subtitles in beta, and adding live class dates to Google Calendar, and the site has an AI class search.

Teachers

The About page says teachers are top players who lead their industries, and that the site carries classes from teachers you will only meet on Schoo. The teacher directory lists 3835 teachers. The first page alone mixes company founders and executives, a former tax investigator turned writer, professors from Keio University, Hosei University and Meiji University's graduate business school, an associate professor at Juntendo University's medical school, labor and social security consultants, a psychological counselor and a DEI consultant. A note on the directory clarifies that "先生" is the general term for anyone who teaches or has taught on Schoo, and that teachers are not employees of Schoo Inc. The help center has an entry for people interested in teaching on Schoo.

Plans and prices

The About page sets out two memberships for individuals. Open membership (オープン会員) is listed at ¥0. It covers live classes (with some exceptions), recorded classes (with some exceptions), and commenting and asking questions in live classes. New open members get an hour of unlimited access to paid recorded classes right after registering, one ticket for a paid recorded class, and a second ticket for adding a profile photo; a footnote puts the limit at up to 2 classes free.

Premium membership is ¥980 a month. On top of the open tier's access it adds downloads of recorded classes (app only), playback speed control and the recording-only classes. The page offers Premium free for 7 days ("月額980円が7日間無料"). The help center's Premium section covers checking your trial status, refunds after canceling, renewal dates, when to cancel before the next charge, and Premium bought through the iOS App Store.

Schoo for Business

The footer's "for Business" section links to company use, example training packages (研修パッケージ例), HR columns, learning video production for companies and an admin console login. The help center has a separate Business plan section covering course completion status, completion from the app, SSO login errors and admin invitation emails, and a DX skill assessment (DXスキル診断) with answer periods and result reports. That makes Schoo a training library as well as a learner product: a company invites staff, assigns training packages, tracks completion and can run a DX skills check. The company plan has its own page and the About page links to it rather than listing a price.

App and support

The Schoo app is available for smartphones and tablets, and the help center covers recommended devices and minimum operating environments for PC and mobile. Accounts use real names and email verification, with Facebook login also offered. The help center is organized into sections from service overview to account settings, classes, Premium and withdrawal, and questions it cannot answer go to a contact form.

Who it suits and who it does not

Schoo suits Japanese-speaking working adults who like learning in company: the evening live classes, the chat with the teacher and the running comments make it feel closer to a class than to a video library. Someone curious can join live classes and many recordings at ¥0, and a regular learner who wants the full 9,000-class archive at their own pace, at double speed or offline, gets it for ¥980 a month after a 7-day trial. HR and training teams in Japan can use Schoo for Business for packaged training, completion tracking and the DX skill assessment.

It suits less well anyone who does not read Japanese, since every class and page is in Japanese, or learners after a degree or a formal qualification: Schoo is about practical work skills and liberal arts, not credentials. Learners outside Japan who want to join live may also find the evening Japan-time schedule hard to fit.