Overview

• The Sapporo Board of Education on August 28 notified all municipal schools and kindergartens that staff are, in principle, barred from bringing personal smartphones or tablets into spaces where children are active.
• The ban covers classrooms, gyms, and pools, with use permitted only for educational purposes and only with a principal’s approval.
• No penalties will be imposed for violations under the new guidance, which shifts prior rules from prohibiting student photography to restricting device possession in learning areas.
• Officials said the step aims to help children attend school with confidence and to reassure parents.
• Hokkaido’s prefectural board is considering a similar rule for prefectural schools, as prosecutors in Nagoya have indicted a city elementary school senior teacher, Yuji Moriyama, in a related case.