Yesterday was the public discussion session of the Council for the Promotion of Regulatory Reform. The members of this council really go on the offensive, don’t they? It started with Chair Hara’s incisive remarks and continued with Boss Kanemaru’s usual sharp questioning. In our conversation after the meeting, the boss said he’s determined to overcome the challenges that came up today, which is very reassuring.

The items for which Chair Hara requested responses from each ministry are as follows:
• A target year and roadmap should be established for achieving world-class education → Ministry of Education
, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) • In promoting the development of ICT infrastructure, this is no time to cite the principle of local autonomy → Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) •Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT
)・Clarify issues regarding procurement methods → Ministry of Economy
, Trade and Industry (METI)・To promote data utilization, security policy guidelines
should be established → MEXT・Urgently resolve issues related to the Personal
Information Protection Ordinance → Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC)・Is the current textbook system, which assumes the use of
paper textbooks, appropriate
? → MEXT・Shouldn’t we establish diverse learning models that combine on-campus and distance learning? → Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and Ministry of Economy
, Trade and Industry (METI) • Shouldn’t we reexamine the role of teachers, including the use of external personnel? → Ministry of Education
, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) • We should eliminate institutional disparities between print and digital media and establish an environment that facilitates the smooth use of copyrighted works → Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)

During the first half of the discussion, a representative from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) stated that they were at a loss to answer because they did not understand what “cutting-edge” referred to. However, the committee members took a firm stance against accepting any ambiguous answers, and ultimately, MEXT agreed to “develop a plan for world-leading education.”Although I did not mention it today, China has made the use of AI in education a national strategy, is promoting educational reform, and intends to expand that educational environment globally. I hope that Japan—which has built an education system that is the pride of the world in an industrialized society and has served as a global model—will continue to lead the way in the Society 5.0 era as well.

The good news is that the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has indicated that utilizing the “Act on the Promotion of Education Informatization”—which is currently being submitted to the Diet by the Cross-Party Parliamentary League on ICT Education—would be a good idea. Since it is not realistic to make this a condition tied to intellectual property measures, and given that it would be best for local governments to develop their own plans, I believe it would be best to enact this member-sponsored bill with the government’s cooperation.

Commissioner Kanemaru and Chair Hara asked for our views on the fact that digital textbooks are paper-based and their use is limited to half the total. While I believe this was unavoidable to some extent given the challenges involved in their initial implementation, I think measures are needed once usage begins to further promote their effective utilization. Learning of Tomorrow and DiTT are currently exploring ways to expand the use of digital and online educational materials beyond textbooks and to facilitate the smooth handling of copyright issues. Furthermore, I believe the time has come to reexamine whether Japan’s unique systems—such as the curriculum guidelines and textbook certification processes—are truly necessary in the age of digital technology and AI.

Several attendees, including the minister, pointed out that we’ve been having the same discussion for years.
I hope that the policy will be given higher priority so that we can move from consideration and testing to immediate implementation.

By the way, the biggest surprise was meeting Izumi Hayashi—who I’m close with on a personal level—for the first time in a meeting and discovering that, even though she’s usually very calm and gentle, she’s incredibly assertive during meetings (*^^*)

My presentation was essentially the same as the hearing that took place before the public discussion.

https://creativekids.jp/?p=16678前回の会議の議事録もアップされています.
https://www8.cao.go.jp/kisei-kaikaku/suishin/meeting/committee/20190226/gijiroku0226.pdf