Chromebook to win most in Japan purchase program, says Digitimes Research

The Japanese government will begin a JPY300 billion (US$2.786 billion) plan to purchase mobile computing devices to cope with urgent demand for remote study triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, with Chromebooks likely to emerge as the favorite thanks to their advantages in hardware and software costs as well as local industry support.

The digitalization education program, laid down in late 2019 by Japan's Ministry of Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) under a GIGA (Global and Innovation Gateway for All) School framework, aims at giving each of its elementary and junior high school students one computer by 2024.

The nationwide suspension of schools in the wake of pandemic has forced the Japanese government to move forward the completion of such a goal by 2020.

If the budget of JPY300 billion available for the purchases of computers for students in 2020 is fully utilized, it will translate into a demand for 7-8 million mobile computing devices in the year, Digitimes Research estimates.

While MEXT's suggestion for the purchase of mobile devices include Windows-based models, Chromebooks and iPad devices, Digitimes Research believes that Chromebooks will win most of the bids due to their lower software license fees, hardware cost and support of local IT service providers, telecom operators and brand vendors.