Hasebe invited established manga artists to teach special classes on the opening day. Students were taken through techniques of character drawing by teachers including Shinbo Nomura, creator of the manga "Tsurupika Hagemaru." 

Naruto Maegami, a first-year junior high school student, joined the classes from the island of Iwagijima. "It was fun. The teacher's explanation was easy to understand," he said. 

Housed in Takaikamishima's renovated former elementary and junior high school, which closed in 2023, the manga school has three classrooms and a manga reference room. In March, the school began accepting student applications for a series of weekend classes, scheduled for early summer, teaching the basics of manga. 

Takaikamishima Manga School was over eight years in the making for Hasebe and his long-time friend Sadamu Kimura. Kimura, 74, grew up on the island and returned to settle there around 20 years ago. 

Hearing the lively voices of the children and the school chime ring, Kimura said with tears in his eyes, "I recall the days where kids were here. I'm so happy."  

In the 1950s, Takaikamishima, officially called Takaikamijima, had a population of around 300. Around 70 families made a living on the island through fishing and agriculture, according to the notes made by Kimura on a website introducing the island under the manga initiative.

In 2007, when Hasebe was invited by Kimura to visit the island, he fell in love with it. The population at the time was just 51. 

The pair tried to revitalize the island by holding events, but the number of visitors they attracted was fleeting. They wondered what they could do to keep attracting people to the island. 

In a bid to stop Takaikamishima from becoming uninhabited and attract visitors, the pair started the manga initiative in 2016 with a mural inspired by the manga "Dr. Koto's Clinic," painted on the wall of the island's community center. 

Hasebe sought the cooperation of the manga's creator Takatoshi Yamada for the project, an acquaintance of his. 

Starting with the completion of the first mural about 10 years ago, Yamada introduced him to other artists. As the murals increased, so did the number of visitors. 

To accommodate the increase in visitors, Hasebe opened the "minshuku" lodging facility Nataore no Ki in 2017, converting an abandoned home. In October last year, Hasebe jointly opened the island's only cafe, Manga Tei, with Masanori Baba, 50, who had been a company employee in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. 

Takaikamishima is one of 256 so-called remote islands, where living conditions are harsh and populations are in decline, which Japan has targeted for support in infrastructure and revitalization under the Remote Island Development Act. 

Despite a combined population of around 340,000, less than 0.3 percent of the population of Japan, the islands play a key role in maintaining the country's territorial waters and strategic economic zones, according to the land ministry. 

Takaikamishima became part of the town of Kamijima in 2004. Kamijima Mayor Toshiyuki Uemura welcomes the approach taken by Hasebe and Kimura to overcome the island's challenges.

"It's hard for people who live on islands to come up with ways to develop the community," he said.

"That they decided to implement this manga project is a wonderful development that we never would have thought of." 

Lessons by professional manga artists for 10 students of various ages started in earnest in May. The school plans to hold more classes down the road and an intensive course this summer. 

"I look forward to the day when people from all over the world will visit here," Hasebe said.