Discussion with Mr. Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills, OECD

On July 31, Mr. Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the OECD, held discussions during his stay in Japan with Dr. HARAYAMA Yuko, Secretary General of the Tokyo Centre of the GPAI Expert Community, and with Dr. IMAGAWA Takuro, Vice-Minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Dr. Harayama introduced the concept of human agency, positioned in the Japan’s Second Artificial Intelligence Basic Plan adopted by Cabinet decision on July 14 this year as the core of efforts to strengthen human capabilities, together with the Tokyo Centre’s Student Communities and Agentic AI projects. Director Schleicher shared OECD evidence indicating that, at present, the use of AI can also work to weaken human agency, and emphasised the importance of designing education-specific AI that preserves the cognitive effort essential to learning. He expressed the view that Japan’s work in this area carries considerable international significance.

Vice-Minister Imagawa explained that the rate of AI use in Japan has increased significantly compared to when the OECD previously conducted a survey, and he outlined Japan’s approach to AI governance, including the Hiroshima AI Process. Director Schleicher emphasized the importance of AI literacy, particularly in the field of education, noting that it is essential not only for increasing AI adoption but also for improving the quality of AI use. He also introduced the AI literacy framework published jointly by the OECD and the European Union.

Building on these discussions, the participants confirmed their intention to further strengthen cooperation and to remain in close contact going forward.