Starting August 4th, 2026 (Tuesday), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will be relaunching its free online course, "Introduction to Data Science for Working Professionals," as part of its efforts to improve statistical literacy. Registration is open until September 14th (Monday).
The online course "Introduction to Data Science for Working Professionals" was first offered in March 2015, and has since been taken by approximately 231,000 people. The course aims to cultivate highly skilled individuals in "data science" by teaching fundamental knowledge of statistical data analysis, including the basics of statistics and how to interpret statistical data, so that participants can apply this knowledge to the use of data in their daily lives. The instructors include Professor Kazuto Ataka of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies at Keio University.
This revamped course includes enhanced content such as business applications of data science and practical uses of public data. It covers everything from the basics of statistics to methods for obtaining and using public statistical data, delivered over four weeks through 6-9 short video lectures (approximately 10 minutes each). A certificate of completion is issued upon achieving a certain score on weekly quizzes and the final assignment.
The course will run from August 4th (Tue) to October 6th (Tue) (tentative), and registration is open until September 14th (Mon). Those wishing to enroll should register on the course introduction website. Registration and tuition are free.
Furthermore, a more practical course, "Data Science Exercises for Working Professionals," is scheduled to begin in October 2026. In addition, a new course titled "Understandable and Usable Statistical Analysis Programming" is scheduled to begin in January 2027, where participants can learn the basics of statistical analysis and how to utilize data through exercises using Python.
