Overview
- The Education Ministry released the 2026 national learning survey on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, showing a clear decline in time students spend studying outside class compared with five years earlier.
- Only 50.3% of sixth graders and 61.7% of third‑year middle school students reported studying at least one hour on a weekday outside school, down 12.5 and 14.1 percentage points from the 2021 survey.
- The ministry's analysis found that students who spend more time on social media and video viewing tend to score lower, while confident users of tablets and online tools show higher correct rates on some tasks.
- Sendai’s board of education published local results the same day showing elementary scores at the national average (61% correct in Japanese) and middle‑school scores above the national average, along with high ICT use and strong student self‑esteem.
- Officials said they will watch the trend closely and may push classroom changes to teach active, skills‑based use of information technology and to address declining out‑of‑school study time.