Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT may be used in Japanese elementary, middle and high schools under new preliminary guidance from the country’s Ministry of Education. The permission is limited and comes with rules for students and plans to review how the tools work in practice.
Limited use comes with clear boundaries
The guidelines do not treat AI-generated schoolwork as a substitute for a student’s own effort. Submitting work produced purely by AI as a personal submission is considered cheating.
That distinction gives students a practical boundary: AI may have a role in school, but passing its output off as entirely their own work violates the guidance. The source does not specify particular assignments or permitted classroom activities, so the scope of acceptable use remains limited by the preliminary rules.
Extra care for younger students
The ministry calls for special caution when elementary school students use generative AI. The guidance specifically identifies students under the age of 13 for that heightened care.
It also warns students not to enter personal information into AI tools and says they should respect copyright laws. Together, these directions address how students use the tools, what information they share, and how they handle material that may be protected.
A trial period before the rules are revised
The guidance is preliminary rather than a final, settled policy. In the fall, the Education Department plans to select a number of middle and high schools to test AI use.
The ministry plans to use the results of that testing to revise its guidelines. That makes the school trials an important next step: they can provide experience with limited AI use in classrooms and inform how the rules develop.
For now, the guidance establishes permission alongside caution. Schools and students have a framework to work within, while the planned trials will help shape future versions of the rules.
Part of a wider education discussion
The report also notes that the Hong Kong Department of Education recently unveiled an AI curriculum. It offers a separate example of education authorities addressing AI, though the source gives no further details about that curriculum or how it compares with Japan’s guidance.
Japan’s approach, as described here, centers on limited use, student safeguards, and a planned review. The eventual revisions will depend on the results of the school trials.