Japan adopts bill to allow digital textbooks

February 24, 2018

Tokyo- The Japanese government, at a cabinet meeting on Friday, adopted a bill to revise laws, including the school education law, to allow the use of digital textbooks via tablet computers and other devices at elementary, junior high and high schools.

The government aims to get the law revisions enacted during the ongoing session of parliament, planning to start the use of digital textbooks in April 2019 in place of some paper textbooks.

Students with visual, developmental or other disabilities will be allowed to use digital textbooks for all subjects.

The education ministry is looking at the full-scale introduction of digital textbooks with the same content as paper textbooks in fiscal 2020, when the new school curriculum guidelines are fully introduced.

Also at Friday's cabinet meeting, the government approved a bill to revise the copyright law to relax rules on the online distribution by schools of copyrighted works as educational materials.

The government aims to get the bill through parliament during the ongoing session as well and to put it into effect in January 2019, except some parts.

The current law requires the consent of copyright owners for such online distribution, while no consent is needed for the distribution of printed materials.

The bill calls for making copyright owners' consent for online distribution unnecessary if schools pay compensation to organizations designated by the commissioner for cultural affairs. Jiji Press