Japan Adopts Bill on Digital Textbooks, but Concerns on Effectiveness, Impact Need to Be Addressed

By Kojiro Ito and Etsuko Hashizume / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

1:00 JST, April 9, 2026

The Cabinet adopted a bill on Tuesday to revise the School Education Law and related laws that would designate digital textbooks as official textbooks. While the bill makes digital textbooks subject to state screening, free distribution and mandatory use, concerns remain.

Moving forward, work will proceed on formulating guidelines to specify the grades and subjects in which digital textbooks will be introduced.

At a press conference following the Cabinet meeting, Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Yohei Matsumoto touted digital textbooks, saying, “Content will become easier to understand.” However, he added, “We do not intend to uniformly replace all paper textbooks with digital ones.”

Under the legislative revision, textbooks in three formats — paper-only, hybrid and digital-only — can be officially recognized. The hybrid format is expected to involve scanning QR codes printed in paper textbooks to access digital materials such as videos online.

Existing paper textbooks also include QR codes, however the linked materials are considered supplementary. After the revision, such materials will become part of the mandatory textbook content, and thus the use of digital materials in class is likely to increase significantly.

Issues associated with textbook digitization have not been resolved. It has been argued that reading content on screens, compared to paper, can lead to “shallow reading.” With a digital-only approach, there are concerns that increased screen time could lead to deteriorating eyesight and posture. Even with the hybrid format, some have voiced concerns, including a teacher at a Tokyo public elementary school, who said, “Switching back and forth between paper and digital is cumbersome and hinders understanding within the class.”

Overseas, there are moves to return to paper textbooks from digital textbooks in such countries as Finland.

Compiling guidelines

The focus going forward is on the guidelines to be compiled by the government, as they could serve as a means to curb excessive digitization.

These guidelines will serve as criteria for textbook editing and adoption. A key focus will be on determining for textbook publishers and boards of education the appropriate grades and subjects for the introduction of digital textbooks.

They will reportedly take into account the developmental stages of children — with younger children typically more susceptible to the effects of digital media — as well as the nature of specific subjects. In English, for example, audio material can be utilized. Health concerns, such as declining eyesight, will also be examined, and the guidelines will include points of consideration when using the new textbooks.

The education ministry plan to hold the first meeting of an expert panel on Friday with the aim of finalizing the guidelines this autumn.

However, discussions at the Central Council for Education’s working group, which decided last September to move toward making digital textbooks official, proceeded with a “digital-first” approach. While the 15 members of the expert panel include experts in cognitive science and developmental psychology, there is a need for discussions that delve into the negative aspects of digital technology as well.

To ensure effectiveness, the ministry will designate the guidelines as a “ministerial decision,” which carries greater weight than guidelines issued in the conventional manner. As the education minister determines approval or rejection of textbooks in state screening, the positioning of these guidelines as a ministerial decision is an effort to exert a certain degree of influence over textbook publishers.

Full-scale discussions on the legislative revision are set to begin in the Diet. There are cautious views regarding the rapid digitization of textbooks within both ruling and opposition parties. A bipartisan parliamentary group for the promotion of print culture has said that various concerns have been raised and thorough deliberation in the Diet is required.