Students at a high school in Tokyo, Japan in 2024. Photo by AFP
A recent survey reveals that 73.7% of high school students in Japan are utilizing conversational artificial intelligence, primarily as a tool for information gathering and academic assistance.
The study, spearheaded by the Gakken Research Institute for Learning and Education, highlights that AI adoption is also gaining traction among younger demographics. According to the data, 43.2% of junior high students and 36.6% of elementary school pupils report using these technologies.
Conducted online in November 2025, the research analyzed responses from 2,400 students across all grade levels to determine how they interact with generative AI platforms like ChatGPT.
The data set included 1,200 valid responses from the preschool and elementary categories, with 600 responses each from the junior high and high school groups. For students in the preschool through junior high brackets, surveys were completed alongside parents, while high schoolers provided their own responses.
Among high school users, 42.3% reported using the technology for “assistance with homework and studying”, while 26% utilize it for “support for information gathering”, and 24.3% seek it out for “advice and counseling.”
Furthermore, 21.5% used it for “translation,” 20.3% for “creating texts and stories” and 26.3% said they “do not use” it, according to a press release issued on the institute’s official website.
Junior high students exhibited similar usage trends, with 17.8% engaging with AI for information and 17.7% for academic support. Elementary students, however, demonstrated a different priority: 44% used AI for information retrieval, followed by 32.6% for studying and 23.7% for creating images.
When evaluating the impact on cognitive skills, the majority of respondents across all age groups reported no noticeable change in their thinking ability. Elementary and junior high students were more likely to feel their thinking had improved rather than declined. Conversely, high school students were the most likely group to report a perceived decrease in their own thinking capacity.
Hiroyuki Masukawa of Aoyama Gakuin University told The Mainichi that the conversation should center on whether AI truly enhances the learning process. He stressed the necessity of fostering AI literacy, ensuring that students leverage the technology to bolster and refine their critical thinking skills rather than replace them.
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