Gakken
Corporate brand
UnclaimedGakken Inc. is a Japanese education and general publisher formed in 2022 through the consolidation of several Gakken publishing businesses.
Last updated September 25, 2026
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Overview
Gakken Inc. (株式会社Gakken) is a Japanese publishing and education company within the Gakken Holdings group. Its current corporate form dates to October 1, 2022, when Gakken Education Mirai survived a merger with Gakken Plus, Gakken Medical Shujunsha and Gakken Publishing Service, and adopted the name Gakken Inc. The company describes its corporate purpose with the phrase “Creating the future, creating learning.” Its roots are in the publishing business of Gakushu Kenkyusha, the company commonly known as Gakken, established in 1947. The supplied Japanese Wikipedia entry says the Gakken name has also been used in Latin letters as a brand since the 1990s, while the kanji name 学研 continues to be used as a publishing brand. The business spans educational publishing and learning-related content rather than a single narrow book category. Its publishing activities include school textbooks, educational and reference books, children’s books, picture books, study guides and medical and nursing publications. The company’s related group operations also connect it to education services, school and preschool materials, digital learning, online training and qualifications-related e-learning. Gakken’s official site links to education and publishing websites, medical and nursing publishing, school education resources, a company research institute and Gakken Mall, its official online store. The supplied sources also identify group-related businesses in travel publishing, education publishing and qualifications e-learning; those are presented as related companies or group activities, not necessarily as Gakken Inc.’s own direct offerings. Gakken is based in Nishi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo. Its official company profile gives January 13, 2009 as its establishment date and records the October 1, 2022 company-name change. This distinguishes the current legal entity’s establishment from the much earlier origins of the wider Gakken publishing tradition. The company is a subsidiary of Gakken Holdings. The official profile lists a chairperson, president, directors and executive officers, including President Tatsuya Nanjo. Its associated companies include Chikyu no Arukikata, Kirihara Shoten, Gakken LX and Shinko Igaku Shuppansha, as listed on the supplied company-profile page. The Gakken name is associated with accessible learning and educational publishing, alongside children’s content and specialist publications. The broader catalogue described in the supplied Japanese Wikipedia entry includes the Gakken illustrated encyclopedias, dictionaries and study guides, as well as medical and nursing books. Its textbook publishing includes elementary-school health and moral education, and lower-secondary health and physical education and moral education, according to that entry. Gakken’s current official homepage presents news about children’s books, illustrated reference titles and educational materials. The evidence supplied does not establish a complete current catalogue, detailed international sales footprint, or the ownership percentage of the parent company.
History
Gakken Inc.’s corporate history combines the formation of a modern subsidiary with the much older publishing tradition of the Gakken name. The supplied Japanese Wikipedia entry traces that tradition to the publishing business of Gakushu Kenkyusha, established in 1947. It says the Latin-letter form “Gakken” began to be used as a brand in the 1990s, while 学研 continued as a publishing imprint. The current company should therefore be distinguished from the larger historical business from which its name and publishing identity descend. The current legal entity was established as Gakken Education Mirai on January 13, 2009. The supplied Japanese Wikipedia entry places this formation in the context of a restructuring by the then Gakushu Kenkyusha, ahead of the group’s holding-company reorganization. It describes Gakken Education Mirai as a company for preschool- and school-oriented business. In October 2009, the wider group reorganized as Gakken Holdings, with publishing and sales businesses organized among separate companies. In the following years, subsidiaries and business units were consolidated, transferred or reorganized. The supplied entry records, among other changes, the consolidation of publishing businesses into Gakken Plus in 2015 and the absorption of other education-related businesses into group companies. A defining consolidation occurred on October 1, 2022. According to Gakken’s official history page, Gakken Education Mirai survived a merger with Gakken Plus, Gakken Medical Shujunsha and Gakken Publishing Service, and changed its name to Gakken Inc. The Japanese Wikipedia entry additionally says part of Gakken Educational’s business was transferred as part of this reorganization. The merger brought education, general and specialist publishing activities together under a comprehensive publisher. The company retained both the Gakken name and the broader 学研 publishing identity. The supplied Wikipedia history records subsequent group developments: a joint venture called Gakken LX was established in November 2023 with Cocobe for e-learning aimed at professional qualifications; Kirihara Shoten joined the group in September 2024; and the company’s preschool-education business was integrated into Gakken Area Market, now Gakken SEED, in October 2024. These are group and corporate restructuring events rather than evidence that every activity is a direct Gakken Inc. operation. The current official company profile lists Gakken LX and Kirihara Shoten among related companies. Gakken’s publishing identity spans school education, children’s content and reference publishing, as well as medical and nursing titles. The supplied Japanese Wikipedia entry identifies elementary textbooks in health and moral education and lower-secondary textbooks in health and physical education and moral education. It also describes the Gakken illustrated encyclopedias, study materials and specialist medical and nursing publishing. The official website currently links to school education resources, medical and nursing publishing, Gakken Publishing, an official store and research bodies. These sources show a company that combines publishing with a wider education-related group presence, while not establishing a complete present-day list of products or all markets served.
Gakken publishing origins
[5]Gakken Education Mirai established
[3]Gakken Holdings reorganization
[5]Gakken Plus formed through publishing-business consolidation
[5]Gakken Inc. formed under its current name
[2]Gakken LX joint venture established
[5]Kirihara Shoten joined the group
[5]Preschool education business integrated into Gakken Area Market
[5]
Products and positioning
A Japanese education-focused publisher combining school learning resources with children’s, reference, general and specialist publishing.
Gakken illustrated encyclopedias
A named illustrated-reference publishing line identified in the supplied Japanese Wikipedia entry.
School textbooks
The supplied Japanese Wikipedia entry identifies elementary health and moral education textbooks, and lower-secondary health and physical education and moral education textbooks.
Children’s books and picture books
Children’s books and picture books are among the publishing categories described in the supplied Japanese Wikipedia entry.
Medical and nursing publications
The supplied evidence describes medical books, nursing publications and related specialist periodicals.
Brand decisions
- Consolidation of publishing businesses under Gakken Inc.Other
Sources6 sources
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