An 11-year-old boy from Hiroshima Prefecture who had refused to go to school because he found the environment too harsh found a way to get back into the fold and continue his education.

He is one of a growing number of chronically absent students with social anxiety who are finding their academic salvation in a virtual world known as the metaverse, a buzzword for a graphical online space where users can meet and interact with one another through of personalized avatars that serve as their virtual alter egos.

The fifth grader accesses it through an online platform called “room-K”, a learning support center that works like a chat room but is more like a role-playing video game.

It is run by a non-profit organization called Katariba, which offers support…