When Should Kids Start Typing? — A Grade-by-Grade Approach and MEXT Survey Results

The short answer: there is no nationally set starting grade. Here is what is decided and what is not.

• Decided 1: elementary schools run activities to learn entering text on a computer

  This is in the main text of the Course of Study (General Provisions, Section 3, 1 (3) a). Schools are to carry it out in a planned way according to the nature of each subject. No grade is specified.

• Decided 2: romaji is read and written in grade 3 Japanese class

  The Japanese-language content for grades 3 and 4 says: in grade 3, read and write romaji for simple everyday words. It also says that grade 3 romaji teaching should be linked to learning basic operations such as entering text on a computer.

• Not decided: a starting grade, and a speed figure

  The commentary on the General Provisions says it is important to plan activities that firmly build basic operations, including entering text with a keyboard at a speed needed to carry out learning smoothly. It gives no number of characters per minute. The phrase about keyboard input is in the commentary, not in the main text of the Course of Study.

So grade 3, when romaji is taught, is a natural point to begin romaji typing. That is the operator's opinion: no official study of how the starting grade relates to later skill was found. Judge by whether your child can keep going, rather than by the starting grade.

How schools handle this varies. A MEXT meeting document (May 2025) says that, for building information skills, elementary schools have no clear place in the subject structure and no specified hours or content, so differences between regions and schools are large. Asking your child's teacher what the school does is the most reliable step.

No official grade-by-grade goals exist. The table separates what official documents say (middle column) from the operator's suggestions (right column).

Finger placement and which finger handles which key are shown in Home Row Position Diagram. For older students, see Typing Speed of Middle & High School Students. Devices, time and what to say when starting at home are in Before You Start Typing at Home.

No official document gives speed goals by grade, so this table has no WPM goals either. Some web pages list WPM goals by grade, but no official source for them was found.

The official figures come from MEXT's information literacy survey (2021 school year; conducted January–February 2022, results published March 2023). It is a sample survey of 479 schools drawn from across Japan (161 elementary, 162 junior high, 156 senior high), and keyboard input figures exist for only three grades: grade 5, grade 8 (second year of junior high) and grade 11 (second year of senior high). No official figures were found for the other elementary grades.

For grade 5, the most common range was 15 to under 20 characters a minute (21.0%). Adding those under 5 (17.6%) and 5 to under 10 (12.8%), 30.4% typed under 10 characters a minute.

The report suggests that the average is above the median because fast students pull the average up. To see how a typical child does, the median (14.7 characters for grade 5) is the better guide.

These figures are not a pass line for typing speed. The report states the purpose of the task as checking how students handle basic device operations. The survey ran in January–February 2022, and MEXT's survey page (checked October 18, 2026) did not list later results.

No. The survey counts how many characters of a 285-character task text (mixed kanji and kana) were entered per minute, not keystrokes. Typing Musou's WPM counts correctly typed romaji keystrokes divided by 5, divided by the minutes elapsed.

Characters and keystrokes do not match one to one. For example, 'ありがとう' is five characters, but in romaji (arigatou) it takes eight keystrokes. For text converted to kanji, the relationship varies even more. The report gives no formula for converting characters into keystrokes.

Other typing sites may also count 'WPM' differently. When comparing, compare records from the same site. The WPM definition and averages are in Average WPM and Benchmarks.

In 'Interim KPIs for Education DX' (submitted by the Minister of Education to the Digital Administrative and Fiscal Reform Council, 5th meeting, April 22, 2024), the government made 'improving Japanese keyboard input skills' one of its indicators.

40 characters is about 2.5 times the grade 5 average in the 2021 survey (15.8). In the same survey, 2.3% of grade 5 students typed about 40 characters a minute or more.

This target is an indicator the government uses to measure progress in digital education. The document does not describe it as a standard every child must meet. It also carries the note that it will be reviewed continuously in light of progress. No published figure for whether the Reiwa 8 target was met was found (checked October 18, 2026).

The full KPI list and how to read the Course of Study, GIGA School and the next curriculum are in Typing Education in Schools Today.

Here is what it can and cannot do, from the operator's side. This article contains no records from Typing Musou players (such as speed by grade).

• Devices

  A computer, or a tablet with a physical keyboard attached. It cannot be played with an on-screen keyboard. On a phone, the game screens do not open (the learning guides and the official site can be read).

• Price, sign-up and age

  It is free, and every feature works as a guest without signing up. No ads are shown. At present nothing can be bought with real money (Terms of Service). The Terms of Service and Privacy Policy ask that children under 13 use it with the consent and supervision of a parent or legal guardian.

• Input method

  Romaji input only. Kana input is not available. The romaji is shown under each prompt.

• Practice menus

  The Home Position Dojo (150 stages in 15 chapters), Speed Trial (compete for damage on a sandbag in 60 seconds), Accuracy Drill (type 10 words without a single miss) and Mock Combat (Stages 1–100 against the CPU). For battles there is Friend Battle with a room code, and Random Battle.

• Break reminder

  After 30 minutes of play, a 20-second break reminder appears. It follows MEXT's guidebook guidance, is on by default and can be turned off in settings. It does not appear during battles or dojo play, only when you return to an ordinary screen.

How to compare games is covered in Choosing a Free Typing Game for Kids. Steps for playing with friends are in How to Play Typing Battles with Friends.

• Q. Can a first grader, or a child before school, start typing?

  There is no rule against it, because there is no nationally set starting grade. Lower grades can start as a stage of getting used to the keyboard, without pressure on speed. Typing Musou cannot be played with an on-screen keyboard, so you need a physical keyboard. No official guidance was found for children before school age.

• Q. What is the average typing speed of elementary students?

  The only official figure is for grade 5 in MEXT's information literacy survey (2021 school year). The average was 15.8 characters per minute and the median 14.7. The unit is characters entered per minute, which differs from WPM. No official figures were found for other elementary grades.

• Q. Is it a problem to start before learning romaji?

  Typing Musou uses romaji input only. Because the romaji appears under each prompt, a child can find and press the keys by looking at the screen. They would, however, be typing without knowing what the romaji means. Romaji is taught at school in grade 3. There is no need to rush; starting in earnest from grade 3 is a reasonable choice too.

• Q. If school already does typing, do we need to do anything at home?

  No official standard was found. A MEXT meeting document itself says that differences between regions and schools are large in how information skills are taught. Ask your child's teacher how much time school gives to typing. If you do practise at home, see Before You Start Typing at Home.

• Q. Will the next Course of Study change typing for elementary students?

  The Central Council for Education's draft summary (October 5, 2026) points toward learning romaji typing mainly in a new 'information area' in elementary school. It is before the final report and before the official notice, so it is not decided. See Typing Education in Schools Today.

The official figures and wording in this article were checked against the documents below (checked October 18, 2026). The documents are in Japanese. Page numbers are PDF page numbers.

1. MEXT, Information Literacy Survey Results (March 2023) — Overview (p.3), 2.4 Characteristics of text input (p.56–57), student questionnaire Q1 (p.59)
2. MEXT, Interim KPIs for Education DX (Digital Administrative and Fiscal Reform Council, 5th meeting, Document 4, April 22, 2024) — KPI list (p.3)
3. MEXT, Commentary on the Elementary School Course of Study (2017), General Provisions — Chapter 3, computers and teaching materials, basic computer operations and programming experience (p.91, p.93)
4. MEXT, Commentary on the Elementary School Course of Study (2017), Japanese Language — Grades 3–4 (1) c (p.80); handling of content, Chapter 3, 2 (1) c (p.167)
5. Central Council for Education, Curriculum Subcommittee, Draft Summary Toward the Next Course of Study (October 5, 2026) — Parts 1–2 (1/4): Japanese-language section, p.140; Part 3 (2) (3/4): lower-grade image, p.165
6. Special Committee on Curriculum Planning (May 12, 2025), Document 1-1, point paper 6 — 'The training system from elementary to high school is unclear' (p.25)
7. MEXT, Information Literacy Survey page — Confirms that the latest survey listed is the 2021 school year (checked October 18, 2026)

There is no nationally set grade for starting typing. Grade 3, when romaji is taught, is a natural milestone, and the lower grades are a stage of getting used to the keyboard without pressure on speed.

The only official speed figure for elementary students is the grade 5 average of 15.8 characters per minute (2021 school year). Its unit differs from WPM, so do not compare it with your child's records; compare with your child's own result last month.