[MEXT] Experts Present Draft Summary of Issues on the Promotion of Children's Reading Activities

On November 29, 2022, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) held the 6th Meeting of Experts on the Promotion of Children's Reading Activities in FY2022.

The MEXT held the meeting on June 7, 2022 to continually listen to the opinions from experts working in various fields on the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Children's Reading Activities (Basic Plan), which is revised approximately every five years based on the Act on the Promotion of Children's Reading Activities (Act No. 154 of 2001).

As the current Basic Plan was due to expire in FY2022, the group of experts discussed envisioning the formulation of the next Basic Plan starting in FY 2023 and presented a draft summary of issues at this meeting.

The draft is entitled "The Expert Group’s Draft Summary of Issues on the Promotion of Children's Reading Activities - Promotion of Reading Activities that Draw Out the Potential of All Children." The table of contents is as follows:

Introduction ... 2

1. Status of children's reading activities in recent years ... 3

I. Status of initiatives at home, in the community, and at school ... 3

　II Status of reading among childre ...

2. Basic policy ... 6

　I. Reducing the non-reading rate ... 6

　II. Securing reading opportunities according to the age range of children ... 8

　III. Improving the reading environment according to digital trends in society ... 8

　IV. Promoting reading activities from the perspective of children ... 9

3. Promotion system for children's reading activities ... 10

　I. Initiatives by municipalities ... 11

　ll. Initiatives by prefectures ... 11

　III. Initiatives by the national government ... 12

4. Measures to promote children's reading activities ... 13

　I Common matters ... 13

　　1 Coordination and cooperation ... 13

　　2 Human resource development ... 14

　　3 Awareness raising ... 15

　　4 Initiatives appropriate to the child's stage of development ... 16

　　5 Initiatives to raise children's interest in reading ... 17

　ll. Family ... 21

　III. Community ... 22

　　1 Role and Initiatives of libraries ... 22

　　2 Promotion of libraries’ initiatives ... 26

　IV. Schools, etc ... 27

　　1 Kindergartens, nurseries, certified childcare centers ... 28

　　2 Elementary and secondary schools ... 28

　V. Private organizations...36

Conclusion...36

With regard to children with disabilities, the following are presented: the enhancement of accessible books and e-books for children with disabilities; promotion of sharing of resources and exchange of personnel between libraries to make it easier for children with disabilities to use libraries; training of personnel who can deal with the digital players in society. The report also indicates the implementation of library services for children with disabilities and their parents, such as ensuring communication through sign language, written communication, physical support, as well as substitute reading services.

The Cabinet will approve the fifth Basic Plan after public consultations from January to March 2023.

See below for more information:
https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chousa/shougai/045/giji_list/mext_00009.html