Japan pilots real-time translation in class
A pilot in Japan demonstrated real-time AI translation running on student tablets to bridge language barriers for foreign children in classrooms, with a short demo shared on social media. The example shows an in-class deployment of translation tech at the device level. (x.com)
Japanese schools are testing tablet-based, real-time translation so children who do not yet speak Japanese can follow lessons as they happen. (nhk.or.jp) The classroom setup is simple: a teacher speaks in Japanese, and the student reads the translated text on a school device. Konica Minolta said its KOTOBAL service began full deployment for education in April 2025 and added a browser version for GIGA School tablets. (konicaminolta.com) Konica Minolta said the service can translate a teacher’s speech in real time during whole-class instruction and can also translate back-and-forth conversations between students. Its real-time artificial intelligence translation supports 23 languages, including English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Portuguese and Ukrainian. (konicaminolta.com) Japan’s education ministry has been building the policy scaffolding for this kind of classroom use since it issued provisional guidance on generative artificial intelligence in schools in July 2023. Updated guidance published in April 2025 says schools should treat artificial intelligence as a tool, with human judgment and responsibility left to teachers and staff. (mext.go.jp, mext.go.jp) The pressure on schools has been rising for years. The Ministry of Education said 69,123 public-school students needed Japanese-language support as of May 1, 2023, up 10,816 from the previous survey and the highest figure on record. (mext.go.jp, asahi.com) The same ministry data shows a wider shift in who is in Japan’s classrooms. A February 2024 ministry briefing said the number of foreign students enrolled in public schools had risen by about 50,000 over 10 years to about 120,000. (mofa.go.jp) Schools are not dealing with only one language group. Ministry materials and company statements both point to demand in Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish and other languages, which makes one-on-one interpreter support harder to schedule across hundreds of municipalities. (aa.com.tr, konicaminolta.com) The tablet model also shifts translation from the front office to the classroom itself. Konica Minolta said schools in Osaka City are using KOTOBAL across all elementary, junior high and compulsory education schools, while Itabashi Ward has introduced it at some schools. (konicaminolta.com) The same system is being pitched for more than lessons. Konica Minolta said schools can use it for group work, notices, parent-teacher meetings and video interpretation, including 24-hour operator support in five languages. (konicaminolta.com) Japan’s ministry has paired that rollout with a caution that the software should not replace teacher judgment. In practice, the pilot points to a classroom where translation runs quietly on each student’s screen while the lesson stays in motion. (mext.go.jp, nhk.or.jp)
