Investors seem to like the strategy, as Tokyo Individualized shares have climbed 41 percent this year. "We'll continue to invest" in the company, Nakagawa said.
To broaden its student base, Tokyo Individualized Educational Institute last August started daytime personal computer classes.
Meiko Network began courses for vocational nursing exams in January last year and opened eight personal computer schools in September last year.
Nagase Brothers said 38 percent of its ?5.73 billion fiscal first-half group revenue came from the cram school business, down from 45 percent the year earlier, led by a decline in ronin students. The company, which started in 1976 with a focus on ronin, is shifting to younger markets and expanding courses broadcast by satellite.
Japan's recession is adding to the problem, as fewer parents are willing to foot the bill for a year of ronin life. "People are being squeezed by the bad economy," said Eikoh spokesman Kenji Kamiya.
All this adds up to harder times for cram schools, said Yoshihide Kamiya, a Nagase Brothers spokesman.
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