Perspectives for Media and Information Literacy Education Policy and Practice in the Age of Disinformation : From Media Literacy to Digital Citizenship Education

In June 2022, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications （MIC） released a "Report on the Results of a Survey on the Current Status and Issues of Measures to Improve Media and Information Literacy". Media and Information Literacy" in the title is an academic term used by UNESCO. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications （MIC） has made a major shift in the direction of its past ICT literacy policy toward the world. Behind this is the issue of disinformation, which has been affecting education policy worldwide. Today, this issue has expanded to include hate speech, conspiracy theories, and state propaganda, and has become one of the central issues of the social media age. Furthermore, since Media and Information Literacy is considered part of digital citizenship, and since MIC's policy includes addressing issues such as slander and hate speech, MIC is working to develop a digital citizenship education policy. Media and Information Literacy, or the joining of Media Literacy and Digital Citizenship, has become common in Europe and the United States, and a similar trend can be seen in Japan. This paper summarizes these policy trends of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications （MIC）, the issue of disinformation in Japan, and the practical movement against it, and examines the future direction of educational policy and the practical movement. First, the author examines the contents of the "Report on the Results of the Survey on the Current Status and Issues of Measures to Improve Media and Information Literacy," released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on June 17, 2022. Next, the author will examine the report "Innovation Nippon: Understanding the Actual Situation of Disinformation in Japan and Consideration of Social Responses," published by the Center for Global Communications （GLOCOM） of the International University of Japan in April 2022. Finally, the author will discuss the theory and practice of Media and Information Literacy （Media Literacy in the broad definition） in Japan in the future.