In an age when no one can beat AI on intelligence, the people chosen are those others truly want to work with. After nearly 30 years in IT, here is why being a good person matters.
Blog
Activity reports, event recaps, and columns on digital education for children.
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Becoming a Person Others Want to Work With
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Using AI by chance, or by design
Anyone can make one good picture with AI. Producing the same quality again and again takes design. Ten thousand teaching materials were not the work — they were the foundation that kept 340 comics coming.
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Are You Keeping Your Child in a Parental Birdcage?
Is "good university, good company" really the right path for your child? Behind "do what you like," the parent's map sets the destination, and AI has redrawn that map. Parents should be a perch, not a birdcage.
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Children Grow When They Have a Place — What I Noticed on a Visit Day at Houkago Labo
When a visiting child got stuck, the regulars stopped their own play and went to help. A parent's remark, "What good children you have here," made me see that something we never taught had grown. Children grow when they have a place.
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Beware "AI Depression": Without the Big Picture, the Brain Fries
"AI made work easier, yet somehow I'm tired." With agents like Codex and Claude Code running at once, output outruns human reading speed. How a brain without big-picture judgment overloads trying to understand everything, and why that judgment should be built in childhood.
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Don't Let Your Child Become a "Dopagaki" Who Only Watches
"Dopagaki" is Japanese slang for a dopamine-addicted kid. The dividing line is not hours of short-form video but whether a child has a channel to turn what they watch into something they make. Three ways out of watch-only use, without banning the device.
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Why Kids Should Start with AI Instead of Grinding Through Code
AI already writes 20-30% of Microsoft's code. Learning programming is not wrong — but the return on the hours invested is no longer what it was. Data-backed reasons children should build with AI from day one.
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We Held 6 Summer Vacation Events
From July 23 to August 8, we held 3 Minecraft sessions, 2 free laptop giveaways, and 1 AI certification course. 16 children received laptops, and all 8 AI certification participants passed.
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478 of Japan's 33,000 Schools — What Families Can Do While "Generative AI at School" Makes Its Way to the Classroom
Japan's fiscal 2026 generative AI pilot program covers 478 schools — under 2% of the nation's schools. How families and communities can bridge the gap while schools catch up.
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AI Is Becoming Children's Conversation Partner — Right Next to Their Homework
35.6% of minors use conversational AI, and one in three US teens finds AI chat as satisfying as talking with friends. Why children need to "touch AI together" before talking to it alone.
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Does Writing with ChatGPT Lower Language Skills? A Practitioner's Perspective
50.7% of elementary schoolers have tried ChatGPT. Full delegation erodes writing skills — but AI as a dialogue-based editor works like traditional feedback. The case for teaching use, not bans.
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Minecraft Programming at Iriarai 4th Elementary School's Wakuwaku Summer School
On August 2 we visited Iriarai 4th Elementary School's Wakuwaku Summer School, where 20 children took part in Minecraft programming, our second year in a row at the school.
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10,000 Yen a Month Without Knowing It — Kids' Digital Spending Trouble and How Families Can Prepare
Consultations about kids' online game charges reached 4,024 a year, averaging about 330,000 yen. Three safeguards families should set up before "free to play" turns costly.
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Minecraft Programming at Omori 4th Elementary School's Summer Kids Club
On July 27 we visited Omori 4th Elementary School's Summer Kids Club and ran two Minecraft programming classes of 10 children each, our second year in a row at the school.
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Is Using AI Cheating? How Schools Should Handle AI in Education
MEXT guidelines label as "inappropriate" only submitting AI output as one's own in contests or exams — not AI use itself. The essence of cheating is skipping the thinking process.
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Even Elementary Schoolers Can Do It! How to Level Up Your Science Project with AI
Parents saying "no AI" in summer research projects fell 10 points in one year, to 63%. Which stage AI enters — topic hunting, experimenting, or writing up — completely changes what a child learns.
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A 14-Year-Old Built a Hacking Tool with ChatGPT — What the Arrested Teens Didn't Know: Every Action Online Leaves a Trace
Of those arrested for unauthorized access in Japan in 2025, 81 were teenagers — a five-year high. What the boys lacked was the understanding that every action online leaves a trace, and that is exactly what we must teach.
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We Held "Digital Junior Day 2026 Summer" at Omori 3rd Junior High School
Nearly 50 people joined our talk on the "AI divide," laughed through our original AI test's "local" questions, and 12 participants took home a refurbished laptop.
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Grit: What Ultimately Sets People Apart, at Work and in Learning
Even now that anyone can use AI, the gap between people who keep using it and people who don't is widening. Grit predicts achievement better than IQ — and it can be built from childhood.
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Is There Learning Beyond the Fun? — Trial and Error at Our After-School Lab
At our after-school lab, the children are absorbed in play and rarely sit still for "lesson time." The president honestly reflects on the daily tension — why we keep going, and whether learning really sprouts beyond the hours of fun.
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Introduction to Online Safety Education for Children
In 2023, 139 elementary school children fell victim to crimes originating on SNS — a record high per Japan's National Police Agency. What parents and educators need to know about protecting children online, from an expert's perspective.
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Only 1 in 20 Elementary Students Has Their Own PC — What the Latest Surveys Say About the Gap After Devices Were Handed Out
School-issued devices now reach over 70% of young people, yet only about 1 in 20 elementary students owns a PC. The latest surveys show the tool gap behind becoming a creator in the AI era.
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Kids Who Watch on Tablets, Kids Who Create on PCs — What Overseas Education Policy Tells Us
Just watching on a tablet, or creating on a PC? Estonia, a digital frontrunner, and Sweden, returning to printed textbooks. Two overseas cases to help families think about how children use digital tools.
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AI Can Give Children Answers. But Does It Build Thinking Skills?
AI can quickly return homework answers and book reports. But when children get the answer before doing the thinking, they lose time spent reading, sorting things out, trying, and thinking again. This article looks at the skills children need in the age of AI.
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In the AI Era, Full-Stack Isn't Enough — Toward a "Full-Layer" Mindset
As generative AI writes more of the code, children need more than frontend and backend knowledge. This column proposes a "full-layer" mindset that sees down through OS, networks, cloud, and physical hardware.
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Why Typing Education Matters for Children: How Input Speed Shapes Thinking
Based on Japan's MEXT KPI for text input and FY2024 typing certification results, this column explains why typing speed affects learning, CBT tests, and everyday thinking, plus practical ways families can practice at home.
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Are 'Reading, Writing, Math' Outdated? The 3+2 Foundational Skills for the AI Era
Even in an era when AI handles writing and arithmetic, reading, writing, and math remain the foundation. The three deepen, and two more — "asking" and "creating" — are added. Here's a 3+2 framework for foundational skills in the AI era.
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Why Computer Education Boosts Children's Self-Esteem: How Small Wins Shape the Future
Only 17.5% of Japanese children say "I like who I am" — the lowest among five countries surveyed. The key to building self-esteem is accumulating "I did it" experiences, and computers' instant feedback loop is uniquely suited to generating them.
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One Computer Can Change a Child's After-School Life
A child with a computer at home and a child without one have very different afternoons. We explain three reasons refurbished PC distribution matters: closing the ownership gap, reducing e-waste, and opening up options for children regardless of family income.
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Children Who Can Use a Computer vs. Those Who Can't: The Gap That Opens Ten Years Later
IT engineers already earn 1.2x the national average, and Japan's IT salary benchmark rose over ¥2 million in just three years. We examine why growing up with a computer shapes the range of career options available a decade later.
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Digital Kodomo BASE Is Now an Official NPO
On April 14, 2026, Digital Kodomo BASE was officially registered as a Specified Nonprofit Corporation. Nearly two years after founding, we are ready to expand our free digital education programs for children in Ota City.
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Building a Top-Spec AI PC from Scratch — Workshop Report
Three children assembled an AI PC with a Core Ultra 9 285, RTX 5090, and 128 GB of RAM — and solved a real boot problem along the way. A hands-on engineering experience like no other.
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After-School Lab at Imoya Ponpoko Has Launched!
On April 8, 2026, the Digital Kodomo BASE After-School Lab opened at Imoya Ponpoko in Ota City — 16 children joined the very first session. Free every Wednesday, 4–6 pm, for students elementary through high school.
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Why Children Need Early AI Experience — and What It Actually Develops
Drawing on Japan's AI Basic Plan, MEXT guidelines, and a 79.3% AI awareness rate among schoolchildren, we examine what early AI experience builds and why it cannot wait.
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Programming Workshop: Let's Build an AI Game! — Event Report
Eight children per session created wonderfully original games — a Pokémon-style card battle, a deer hunting action game, and a Mario-style platformer with a boss fight.
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School Tablets Aren't Enough: Why Children Need a Computer
Japan's GIGA School devices are in classrooms, but the digital literacy gap persists. We explore why hands-on PC experience is essential for children in the AI era.
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AI Game Programming Workshop at TechnoFRONT Morigasaki
Co-hosted with Kodomo Enne, families gave instructions to AI and built their own games — Mario-style platformers, Suika Game clones, and more. A city council member visited to observe, calling it a remarkable new experience.
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Why Computer Learning Is Becoming a Real Option for Children Who Can't Attend School
Japan's school-absent student count hit a record 353,970 in 2024. As MEXT formalises ICT attendance recognition, we examine why programming and digital creation are uniquely suited to rebuilding self-efficacy in children who struggle with school.
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What Working IT Engineers Fear Most About Japan's Digital Divide
Japan faces a shortfall of 790,000 IT engineers by 2030. Engineers on the front lines of hiring say the gap between those who grow fast and those who don't starts in childhood — with access to a home computer that income largely determines.
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Parents Who Nurture Digitally Curious Children — and Parents Who Don't
How parents respond to a child's digital interests determines whether curiosity grows into capability. Three patterns that stifle — and three behaviours that reliably develop — digital talent in children.
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If Your Child Watches YouTube, Let Them Make It Too
Over 80% of Japanese elementary schoolchildren use YouTube. Moving from viewer to creator builds structuring, editorial, and media literacy skills that watching alone never can — and all it takes is a computer.
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If Not Memorisation, What Should Children Develop in the AI Era?
AI retrieves and recalls faster than any human. Drawing on OECD Education 2030 and MEXT's inquiry-learning guidelines, we identify the three abilities — question-posing, critical thinking, creative synthesis — that AI cannot replace.
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Will IT Skills Determine Children's Future Income?
Japan faces a 3.4 million AI talent shortfall by 2040, and digital skills already command a 31% wage premium. We examine what the data means for children today — and why early hands-on experience matters more than lessons.
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Why We Recommend a PC Over a Smartphone for Children
With elementary students spending 78 minutes a day on smartphones and MEXT data linking screen time to falling scores, we explain why a PC — a tool built for creation — matters more than a smartphone for children's digital development.
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Omoridai Third Junior High School — "Digital Junior Manabiday 2026" Event Report
Organized by the school PTA and Ota City School Management Council, over 50 students, parents, and community members gathered for live AI demos, a talk on the Singularity, and the signature AI Bingo game.
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What Is "AI Literacy Education" — and What Comes After Programming?
Japan's MEXT guidelines Ver.2.0 signal a shift from coding to AI fluency. We break down the three core abilities — critical thinking, prompt design, and task allocation — that AI literacy education is built around.
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Why Digital Education Is Especially Suited for Children Who Don't Attend School
With over 353,000 school-refusing children in Japan, digital education offers self-paced learning, low-barrier peer connection, and official attendance recognition — three reasons it fits non-attending children especially well.
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One PC, Endless Possibilities — How Children Can Learn Beyond Regional and Economic Barriers
Regional ICT gaps, the home digital divide, and the cycle from IT inequality to academic inequality to income inequality — data shows the reality, and how one PC can transform a child's future.
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The Skills Schools Don't Teach — How to Build Future-Proof Abilities in Children
The WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025 projects 40% of job skills will change by 2030. Analytical thinking, resilience, creativity — how to build them through experience, not memorization.
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Why Learning PC Skills in Elementary School Pays Off — The Gap Between PC and Smartphone Users
Typing speed data, a corporate hiring survey ranking PC skills #2, and the demands of the AI era all point to the same conclusion: early PC learning makes a decisive difference.
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Our Mission: Building People Who Thrive in 30 Years, Not Just Today's Good Students
65% of today's children will work in jobs that don't yet exist. Drawing on WEF's Future of Jobs Report and Nobel Prize economist James Heckman's research, we lay out the limits of test-score education and what Digital Kodomo BASE truly stands for.