Yesterday, I attended the general meeting of the Parliamentary League for ICT in Education starting at 8:00 a.m. This is a bipartisan parliamentary league composed of 80 lawmakers. Under the leadership of Representatives Toshiaki
Endo, Masaharu Nakagawa, Masahito Moriyama, and Michihiro Ishibashi, we have drafted the Act on the Promotion of Information Technology in Education. It’s
already been covered in the news.
https://www.kyobun.co.jp/news/20171130_06/

After hearing explanations from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) regarding the preliminary budget request for education ICT, a lively discussion ensued on programming education. I was given the opportunity to
speak,
so I expressed the following: • I hope that the practical experience and insights gained by the private sector to date will be effectively utilized to drive further progress.
• I would like MEXT to provide clear guidelines to ensure a smooth implementation.
• At the same time, since it is not realistic for schools to shoulder this responsibility alone, I hope the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will help build a system to match schools with mentors trained through initiatives such as regional IoT clubs, thereby contributing to the creation of more open schools.
• The feedback we’ve received regarding programming education goes beyond a deeper understanding of computers and the development of computational thinking; it highlights how the approach fosters an attitude of independent, trial-and-error learning, demonstrating that programming education can also serve as a catalyst for active learning.
• Therefore, I would like to once again call for a united and concerted effort.

In the evening,
we held what is billed as Japan’s earliest digital year-end party. Thank you very much to the more than 200 people who joined us.
Following this morning’s bipartisan meeting, Mr. Toshiaki Endo, the first Minister in Charge of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, delivered a powerful message calling for the further advancement of IT in education. Mr. Ichiya
Nakamura made a secret, major announcement—one that will surely be officially revealed at a later date.
The closing remarks were delivered by my mentor, Professor Yoichiro Kawaguchi.
He was joined on stage by Ryo Shimizu—who just yesterday, together with Sony Computer Science Laboratories and WiL, established a new company to build a platform where anyone can use AI—and together they performed Professor
Kawaguchi’s signature “Big Bang” closing…
Professor Yoichiro Kawaguchi’s commemorative lecture marking his retirement from the University of Tokyo will likely be held at Yasuda Auditorium in March.
Please be sure to attend!
Congratulations, Mr. Shimizu!

December starts today, doesn't it? I want to make the most of what's left of 2017 (*^^*)

These photos were taken from posts by everyone who participated♪