Programming Education National Elementary and Junior High School Programming Competition Final Judging & Awards Ceremony Today is the final judging and awards ceremony for the National Elementary and Junior High School Programming Contest. This year, in collaboration with five regional partners, we received 785 entries from all over the country.
The works that made it to the final round were all the result of repeated trial and error and continuous refinement. I was deeply impressed not only by their highly original ideas, rich expressiveness, and advanced technical skills—all of which brought those ideas to life—but also by their tenacious spirit of continuous exploration.
I was also struck by the fact that your ideas were inspired by a wide variety of real-life experiences, such as travel, workshops, and family conversations.
I hope you will continue to gain a variety of experiences, nurture your sensitivity, and pursue your explorations. Thank you for your presentations, which give me a sense of a bright future.
Congratulations.
Dr. Yoichiro Kawaguchi, Chair of the Judging Committee; judges Shigeru Kanemoto, Chiaki Ishizuka (representing Chiaki Hayashi), and Yuichi Masui;Koji Matsubayashi; Mr. Shinpei Toyofuku and Ms. Kayo Kamiya, who appeared as panelists at the talk event; all of our area partners, community partners, media partners, sponsors, and supporters; Professor Masahiko Inami, Chair of the Executive Committee; Executive Committee member Mr. Endo; moderator Mr. Tsuchihashi; and everyone on the secretariat staff—thank you very much, and well done on your hard work.
And above all, thank you very much to all the elementary and middle school students who participated.
Award-Winning Works
Grand Prize Winner of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Award: “Solar System Simulation Game” by Genba Ozaki
Runner-Up: “Color Overlap” by Reo Ueda
Excellence Award, Middle School Division: “Birds AI P-chan” by Shunsuke Mizutani
Excellence Award, Upper Elementary School Division: “Dot-Body Telescope” by Akie Ochi
Excellence Award, Lower Elementary School Division: “Back 2 Back” by Shimon Chiba
Encouragement Award
“Hoozuki Electronic Display Board” by Aoki Ikeda
"Stair Cleaning Robot Ver. 2" by Eiji Shirakawa
"Balance Maze Home Training" by Yosuke Hirobe
"Grandpa's Anti-Overdrinking System II" by Meibuki Furuyama
"Staying Healthy: My COVID-19 Precautions" by Taichi Watanabe
"Snore Buster" by Chicago
Professor, Keio University; Ph.D. (Policy and Media)
Director, B Lab
Chairperson, Learning of Tomorrow (General Incorporated Association)
Chairperson, CANVAS
After graduating from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo, he served as a visiting researcher at the MIT Media Lab before founding the NPO CANVAS and the Learning of Tomorrow Association, a General Incorporated Association, and assuming the role of representative. He serves as an outside director for Matsuya Co., Ltd., Fuji Media Holdings, Inc., and Digital Garage, Inc.
He has served on various government committees, including the Information and Communications Council of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, as well as the NHK Central Broadcasting Program Council. He also serves as a director of the Digital Signage Consortium, among other roles. He holds a Ph.D. in Policy and Media.
His publications include *Turning On Children’s Creativity!*, *What Are Smart Kids Doing on Their Smartphones?*, *The Forefront of Online Education in Japan: Considering Learning in the Post-COVID Era*,“What Is Programming Education? 45 Questions Parents Want to Know,” and “Declaration on Digital Education.” He has also provided supervision for numerous works, including “Ah, I See! Programming Education for Parents and Children Through Manga.”
