1. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC),
Japan’s Efforts for Improving Young People’s Internet Literacy — Development of a Literacy Indicator —
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC),
Japan

2. 1 Background to the Development of a Literacy Indicator
“Act on Development of an Environment that Provides Safe and Secure Internet Use for Young People”
(Act No. 79 of 2008)
Basic Principles
　　1.　Acquiring skills for the appropriate utilisation of the Internet (raising literacy standards regarding Internet use)
　　2.　Minimisation of opportunities for young people to view harmful content (improvement and increased prevalence of filtering functions, related parties’ efforts)
　　3.　Private sector voluntary and active efforts supported by the government
Proposal by MIC’s Study Group to Examine Issues related to ICT Services from the User Perspective
(October 2011)
Examination Item
Summary of the Proposal
2. Expected roles of the related parties
The government is required to develop an indicator for Internet literacy (particularly, regarding how to cope with online risks) in such a way that international comparison is possible, and to disclose it to the public regularly.
OECD Recommendation (February 2012) (extract)
IV RECOMMENDS that, in formulating policies at the domestic level for the protection of children online, governments:
d. Foster awareness raising and education as essential tools for empowering parents and children by, for example:
iii) Regularly measuring the evolution of their Internet literacy.
Efforts for Development of Young People's Internet Literacy Indicator (from Autumn 2011)
MIC of Japan began efforts to develop a young people’s Internet literacy indicator which is consistent with international trends for protecting young people, with the background of the above Act, Proposal and OECD Recommendations.　　　

3. 2 Outline of the Project — Development of a Literacy Indicator —
The process of literacy indicator development is as below. All steps in this process were taken in the light of expert assistance.
1 Categorising online risks to young people
Firstly, MIC categorised the online risks to young people with reference to the risk categorisation found in the OECD report, and actual recent incidents in Japan. This categorisation consists of 3 broad categories, 7 medium categories, and 13 sub-categories.
2 Defining the abilities to be required
Secondly, MIC defined the abilities to be required which correspond to each of the risk categorisations above. They consist of 3 broad abilities and 7 sub-abilities, each corresponding to the above risk categorisation.
3 Breaking down the above abilities into specific knowledge and resultant actions
Thirdly, MIC divided the list of the abilities to be required into areas of detailed knowledge and literacy behaviour.
4 Developing tests to assess abilities
Fourthly, MIC developed tests to assess the above literacy abilities to be required. More than 100 tests were developed and 49 tests (7 for each of the 7 medium risk categories) were selected.
5 Developing pre-test to confirm validity of the tests
Fifthly, MIC implemented a pre-test with approximately year-old students to confirm the validity of the developed tests.
6 Analysing and assessing the tests
Finally, MIC analysed and assessed the outputs of the pre-test and confirmed the validity of the tests.

4. 3 ILAS (Internet Literacy Assessment Indicator for Students)
ILAS (Internet Literacy Assessment indicator for Students) is a literacy indicator for young people’s safe and secure utilisation of the Internet which consists of “Abilities to be required” and the “Analyses of the digitalisation of such abilities (output of the test).” s
Abilities to be required
Digitalisation
of the abilities by the test
Comparison and analysis of abilities digitalised

5. 4 Pre-Test Result Analysis and Evaluation
The test’s reliability coefficient(*) was 0.86, indicating that the test is valid.
Though implemented as a pre-test for validity confirmation of the tests, MIC analysed the output of the test which indicates the level of young people’s Internet literacy. The average percentage of correct answers was 73%.
The percentage of correct answers in each of the 7 categories which corresponds to 1a to 3b are shown as a cobweb chart. (7 tests were made to assess each of 7 abilities to be required (1a to 3b on the previous page), making a total of 49 tests.)
Among the 7 categories, the average percentages of correct answers in 2b “Improper Transactions” and 3b “Security Risks” were rather low (both were 61%).
Average scores for males and females were equal for the most part.
(*) Tests’ reliability coefficient indicates measurement result stability (the ability to get the same results through repeated administrating of the test) and measurement content uniformity of a high correlation between questions which serve as criteria. This figure is a number between 0.00 and 1.00.

6. 5 The Development Process of ILAS
Literacy to be required (examples)
《literacy to be acquired》（examples）
Categorisation of Online Risks　　　　
Knowledge
 Behaviour
Understand that not all users of non-anonymous sites have registered their real names.
Understand that non-anonymous sites carry greater privacy and personal information leakage risks than anonymous sites.
Understand the importance of carefully selecting the scope to which one reveals ones’ own information.
Set appropriate disclosure scopes of information.
When contacted by someone with whom you have no dealings in real life, such as a friend of a friend, respond carefully, and be aware the said contact may create problems.
Major Category
Medium Category
Sub-Category I
Illegal & Harmful Content Risks A
Illegal content
Copyrights, portrait rights, criminal threats, dating sites, etc. B
Harmful content
Content offensive to public order and morality, adults-only content, etc. II
Inappropriate Usage Risks
Inappropriate Contact
Libel
Anonymous SNS
Non-anonymous SNS
Spam
Applications (*)
Improper Transactions
Fraud, sale of improper products, etc. C
Inappropriate Usage
Excess Internet use
Over-Dependence
III
Privacy & Security Risks
Privacy Risks
Leakage of private and/or personal information, inappropriate disclosure
Security Risks
Impersonation through unauthorized access, etc.
Viruses
What is the most appropriate action to take if you receive a message from a member of the same sex asking to meet on a real-name SNS where people with similar interests gather?
(1)
People sometimes falsify their identity even on real-name SNS sites, so I should consult with my parents and not make a decision by myself.
(2)
Because the member has registered with a real name, I could meet them with confidence.
(3)
Because the member is of the same sex, I could meet them with confidence.
(4)
Because the member shares the same interests as myself, I want to ask them various things and I would definitely meet them.
(*) Smartphone applications

7. 6 The Details of the Development of the Tests
MIC categorised various online risks into 3 major categories, 7 medium categories, and 13 sub-categories.
The categorisation has been developed with reference to the international precedents, and MIC has also taken into consideration young Japanese people’s major online difficulties, and the greater penetration of smartphones among young people.
MIC defined the details of the required literacies to correspond to each of the risks. These literacies consist of specific knowledge and behaviour.
MIC developed the tests to assess the literacies.
(An example of a question on appropriate action to non-anonymous SNS is on the previous page.)

8. 7 Schedule — Utilisation of ILAS —
1 The schedule of the ILAS project
In 2011, to confirm the validity of the developed tests, MIC of Japan implemented a pre-test using approximately year-olds.
(2) From 2012, MIC will implement the tests of ILAS on a larger scale (in 2012, with 2,000 young people).
2 Utilisation of ILAS
Summarise the results of the tests and analyses of the individual relative literacy differences between the risk categories to review the public and private policies for a safer and more secure Internet environment for children.
(2) Reflect the summary in the process of the development of the tests and in the definition of the abilities to be required in accordance with international discussion.