It is premature to give digital textbooks an official textbook status at this point when it has not been verified whether they are at least as good as paper textbooks.

The main reason is not because of those students, making digital transformation nationwide for national education just imagine how much money being involved.

The printed textbook industry is in decline in line with the decrease in the number of children.

Commercial digital books incl magazines and comics are rapidly on the increase.

But the printed textbook is still bread and butter to the major publishing players, bringing in ￥billions per year.

The demise of the book printing industry here will impact not only the shops but 1,000s of workers in aligned industries.

So these publishers & associates have a vested interest to s-l-o-w down the transition as a halt is impossible.

Both paper and digital have merits, but with the enhanced functions in addition to straight text, of audio, video, fact checking, live dictionaries etc, then it will eventually be no contest. And in addition, there is relatively little attempt to re-use texts in schools here. Every student must have a New Text at the start of each year. I've never seen a 2nd hand textbook shop operating in any school I've been associated with. Such a waste. Mottainai!

All of this will be reinforced by the cheaper costs to produce say 1,000,000 digital biology texts compared to paper and the ease in which additions, alterations, updates can be made.

Personally I like paper books for longer reads - you know the touch, the feel, the holding, the habit etc - but I recognize e-books will push them aside over the decades.

Digital textbooks are the same pages as printed ones just not you know printed. Questioning if they are any good should be done before deciding to send them to schools either way. Kids in Japan have already been given tablets for daily zombie time during class, nix the books too I say and lighten those backpacks.

Wont somebody think of the children... yes, i have .seen those "backpacks " they carry from Elementary school onwards.

I reckon a US Marine would struggle under the weight.

The format is not so important, it's the content.

Today I had to adjudicate a listening test about how to get to a certain train station by looking at a paper map.

Googlemaps,anyone?

Also,which are better,printed or electronic dictionaries?

When was the last time you saw anyone using a Casio Ex-word?

Laughably anachronistic.

I can only speak with regard to the English textbooks, but if the contents haven't changed in the last however many years, it doesn't matter what form they come in.

"Hello Meiling!"

"Hello Kumi. My country's economy is much stronger than yours"

"Yes, Meiling. But my country has much more delicious food than yours"

"Yes. Let's all be international friends!"

"Hello Meiling!"

"Hello Kumi. My country's economy is much stronger than yours"

"Yes, Meiling. But my country has much more delicious food than yours"

"Yes. Let's all be international friends!"

I agree. The contents are atrocious in many of the English textooks currently in use.

To be fair, however, most of the editors and content writers are foreign ex-pats who are counted on for providing "natural" native content. This is true of recorded material as well. The "natural" native speaker dialogues are anything but natural in content or delivery...unless a learner's destiation abroad is to a robot factory where every single syllable is clearly articulated and there are no flap ts nor reduced vowel sounds.

Digital textbooks can be edited easily if mistakes are found. Books are outdated.

There's another JT article today talking about people having awful eye-problems and other health issues due to looking at computer screens all day.

This is one of the reasons I think tablets should be incorporated into the curriculum along with textbooks but not completely replace them.

Speed, I recall that in the past eye problem issues were suspected from TV screens, monitors etc. but hours of studying textbooks did lead to increase spectacle wear. I do not google or do 'chat' . If anybody got more knowledge? Children's education is essential. As with all humans. one size does not fit all. I always travelled with books when travelling for work. Monitors later became essential when small print accompanied all sales agreements.

GM, could not agree more, super correct tense pronouns...are not necessary anymore, just the latest ability to communicate. If I go to japan is the latest japan private tutor any use??? what region. want to speak english which newspaper? Invest in train journey and talk to people. forget planes everybody is 'spaced' out now.

if only we had more understandable communication.

He's just saying this because they don't have a solid way yet to charge the same amount or more for said books. How about someone let him know that he can give students a code, paid for, that will allow them access to said books for a limited amount of time, and that must be renewed and repaid after a certain time. I have no doubt after hearing that that suddenly digital textbooks will be okay.