1. MIC ICT Policy
  2. Press Release
  3. April
  4. Publication of Survey Results on the FY2025 Internet Literacy Indicators for Youth

April 30, 2026 Publication of Survey Results on the FY2025 Internet Literacy Indicators for Youth

　The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) conducted the "FY2025 Survey on Internet Literacy Indicators for Youth" and hereby releases the survey results.

Note: The published materials are in Japanese only.

1 Background and content

　To improve the Internet literacy of youth, the MIC believes that it is crucial to visualize their abilities to deal with dangers and threats on the Internet, as well as their current status. The MIC developed a test to visualize these abilities as an indicator (*1). Since FY2012, the MIC has been conducting the ILAS test among first-year high school students to measure the Internet literacy of youth, along with a questionnaire survey on Internet usage.

　In FY2025, in addition to first-year high school students, the survey was also conducted for junior high school students (all grades) and elementary school students (all grades). The ILAS tests and questionnaires were administered to 11,889 students at 77 schools, and the results were compiled and analyzed to produce the “Survey Results on FY2025 Internet Literacy Indicators for Youth.”

* ILAS: Internet Literacy Assessment indicator for Students

2　 Summary of the results of the FY2025 survey

【Summary of ILAS test results】

  • Regarding the correct answer rates, the results were 72.4% for first-year high school students (71.5% in the previous year), 76.8% for junior high school students, 71.7% for upper-grade elementary school students (Grades 4–6), and 71.4% for lower-grade elementary school students (Grades 1–3). (*2)

    * Different tests were administered depending on the target group: first-year high school students, junior high school students, upper-grade elementary school students (Grades 4–6), and lower-grade elementary school students (Grades 1–3).

  • By risk subcategory (the seven subcategories of 1a–3b under “Reference”), the area with the lowest correct answer rate was “Unauthorized Transaction Risks (e.g., phishing and online trading, etc.)” for first-year high school students; “Harmful Information Risks (e.g., inappropriate posts and online flaming)” for junior high school students; “Privacy Risks (e.g., personal data leaks and privacy breaches)” for upper-grade elementary school students (Grades 4–6); and “Illegal Information Risks (e.g., copyright and portrait rights)” for lower-grade elementary school students (Grades 1–3).

【Summary of survey results】

  • Regarding Internet use such as social media, the percentage of respondents who answered that “household rules exist” was 41.3% for first-year high school students (53.4% in the previous year), 78.4% for junior high school students, 79.9% for upper-grade elementary school students (Grades 4–6), and 84.9% for lower-grade elementary school students (Grades 1–3). The results indicate that the proportion of households with rules tends to be higher among younger age groups.
  • With regard to Internet use such as social media, respondents who answered that “household rules exist” showed higher correct answer rates in the ILAS test than those who answered that “no household rules exist” across all age groups. The differences in correct answer rates were +1.4 percentage points for first-year high school students, +4.2 percentage points for junior high school students, +8.2 percentage points for upper-grade elementary school students (Grades 4–6), and +19.1 percentage points for lower-grade elementary school students (Grades 1–3), suggesting that the presence or absence of household rules may have a greater impact on test performance among younger students.
  • Regarding knowledge of precautions or countermeasures for Internet use, respondents who answered that they had learned at least one such item at school showed higher correct answer rates in the ILAS test than those who answered that they had not learned any. The differences in correct answer rates were +15.6 percentage points for first-year high school students, +15.8 percentage points for junior high school students, +21.6 percentage points for upper-grade elementary school students (Grades 4–6), and +14.5 percentage points for lower-grade elementary school students (Grades 1–3), suggesting that whether or not students learned about precautions and countermeasures for Internet use at school had an impact on their test performance.
  • Regarding generative AI (AI capable of generating content such as text, images, and audio), the percentage of respondents who answered that they had never used it was 12.6% for first-year high school students, 15.9% for junior high school students, and 24.2% for upper-grade elementary school students (Grades 4–6), indicating that the use of generative AI is already spreading among school-age children.

○　The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) has developed and published awareness-raising materials and other content-based initiatives for improving ICT literacy, as shown in References 1 to 10. These materials are intended to be utilized in learning at schools and at home.

Contact

For further information about this press release, please fill in the inquiry form and submit it to MIC on the website
https://www.soumu.go.jp/common/english_opinions.html

Global Strategy Bureau, MIC

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