Editorial

15:45 JST, January 24, 2025

There are movements in countries that are advanced in terms of information technology to return to paper textbooks because of the negative impact of excessive digitization on education.

In Japan, too, there are deep-seated concerns at schools. It is difficult to understand why the government, in spite of this, is currently trying to bolster its shift toward digitization.

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has presented a point of discussion to a working group of its Central Council for Education that includes the positioning of digital textbooks, currently considered “alternative teaching materials,” as official textbooks. The ministry aims to revise the system by the 2026 academic year and put digital textbooks into use from the 2030 academic year.

Digital textbooks are currently used in combination with........

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