Nipponica

The change, approved by an education ministry working group, will give local education boards the options of adopting only digital textbooks, using them alongside paper ones -- an option already available -- or sticking with paper textbooks only.

The Central Council for Education has said that the move will lead to wider textbook choices, facilitate learning that accommodates the increasingly digital nature of society and generate new, creative teaching methods.

However, some experts have expressed concern that the use of digital textbooks may increase the burden on teachers and textbook publishers and cause impaired eyesight and other health issues among students.

There will be pushback for some good reasons but this is clearly the future. I do worry though about the ability to change history in all of a country’s textbooks on a whim. The potential for abuse is huge and needs to be addressed.