Because children use tablets at school, it is easy to assume they are already comfortable with digital tools.
But tapping a tablet is not the same as writing on a computer, managing files, researching, creating, and sharing work. Keyboard input in particular does not develop without regular use.
According to the Ministry of Education, the average Japanese elementary school student can type just 5.9 characters per minute — less than one-tenth the speed expected of working adults.
Japan's GIGA School Initiative gave every public school child a device, yet this figure has barely moved. The question that data raises is direct: can school-issued tablets alone give children the digital skills they truly need?
The Reality of GIGA School
Japan's GIGA School Initiative delivered one device per child to every public elementary and junior high school nationwide. According to the Ministry of Education, roughly 78% of elementary students now use these devices. On the surface, digital access appears democratized. But the reality is more complicated.
Most school devices are tablets — designed for viewing, reading, and confirming information. Keyboard use remains limited. Even among students in schools with advanced digital programs, only a small fraction reaches 22 characters per minute.
Skills That Only a PC Can Develop
Using a real computer builds a wide range of skills: creating and editing documents, organizing files and folders, basic spreadsheet operations, and critically evaluating information found online. These are difficult to develop meaningfully on a smartphone or tablet. Each hands-on session builds the foundation that carries children through middle school, high school, university, and the working world.
Programming is another key area. Since 2020, programming has been mandatory in Japanese elementary schools — but truly writing code and making programs run requires a mouse and keyboard. Visual block-based programming on tablets is a useful starting point, but too many children never advance beyond it.
To Use AI, Children Must First Know How to Use a PC
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot are built around fast text input and fluid screen navigation. Using them effectively requires typing accurate, nuanced prompts and organizing the responses — skills that are a direct extension of everyday PC use. Whether a child can leverage AI effectively is increasingly determining their future academic and career options.
A Growing Digital Divide Leaving Children Behind
The problem runs deeper than it first appears. There is a stark and widening gap in digital literacy between children who use a computer at home daily and those who cannot — often due to financial barriers. KUMON's 2025 Household Learning Survey found that about 30% of parents are not doing any digital learning with their children at home. Access to devices still depends heavily on household income and parental awareness.
As advocacy organizations have documented, this digital divide feeds directly into academic achievement gaps and, ultimately, income inequality. Treating it as a personal problem is no longer adequate — it is a social challenge. Handing children a school tablet doesn't close the gap if they have no access to a computer outside school hours, evenings, and weekends.
A Computer Is Not a Study Tool — It's Basic Infrastructure
For children today, a computer is not simply one of many study aids. It is foundational infrastructure for participating in society — as essential as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Every child deserves genuine digital education, not just a tablet to tap during class.
Digital Kodomo BASE provides free PCs to children whose households cannot afford them, and offers a space in Ota City, Tokyo, where all children can freely explore computers, AI, and programming. Digital skills must reach every child — not just those who happen to have them at home.