Japan's Largest Programming Contest for Elementary School Students, Tech Kids Grand Prix 2026 Supported by Cygames, Now Accepting Applications!!

TV Asahi Corporation (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Nishi Shin; hereinafter "TV Asahi") and CA Tech Kids Inc. (Reading: CA Tech Kids; Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President: Tomohiro Ueno), a company engaged in programming education for children, are jointly hosting the "Tech Kids Grand Prix 2026" (Reading: Tech Kids Grand Prix 2026), a programming contest to determine the No. 1 elementary school programmer in Japan. Applications opened today, July 1 (Wed.).

"Tech Kids Grand Prix" is a programming contest for all elementary school students who will lead the next era. First held in 2018, the 2025 competition last year received 11,554 applications from across the country, continuing to grow as Japan's largest programming contest for elementary school students. (*1)

The 2026 competition, the 9th annual event, will accept applications from July 1 (Wed.) to September 30 (Wed.). Following area preliminary rounds and 1st to 4th selection stages, the final championship will be held in Tokyo, Shibuya in February 2027.

◎ Full-Scale Support for Participants

"Tech Kids Grand Prix" aims to "discover," "nurture," and "enlighten" creators who will lead the next generation. We have conveyed the possibilities of creating with technology by discovering outstanding works and talents of children nationwide and widely disseminating their challenges and achievements.

For the 2026 competition, we will fully develop support in learning and production for those new to programming and for participants who wish to improve their entries, in order to provide opportunities for each participant to deepen their learning through the contest and feel their growth during the creation process.

As a first step, we will release beginner-friendly work development materials (a total of 4 types, including "Typing Game" and "Rhythm Game," newly added this year). Participants can learn the basics of programming and the process of creating works through these materials.

Furthermore, free online workshops utilizing these work development materials will be held for two days, July 25 (Sat.) and July 26 (Sun.), for elementary school 4th graders and above. Under the guidance of instructors, we will provide an opportunity for even those new to programming to challenge themselves in creating works.

Details on how to view the materials and apply for the online workshops can be found on the "APPLY Challenge the Contest" page on the official contest website.

▼ "APPLY Challenge the Contest" page is here

https://techkidsschool.jp/grandprix/apply/

We will continue to sequentially release various learning materials and content useful for applications and work creation in line with the contest phases.

◎ Review of Application Items in Consideration of the Generative AI Era

This contest has so far emphasized the following three aspects in its judging:

・VISION (Dreams and worldviews to be realized)

・PRODUCT (Creative ideas to realize dreams and works embodying them)

・PRESENTATION (Attitude towards communicating one's vision and product to society)

In recent years, the spread of generative AI has greatly expanded the ways in which children can bring their ideas to life. On the other hand, the degree of completion of a work alone is making it increasingly difficult to understand the participant's intentions, purpose, background, and process behind its creation.

In the 2026 competition, based on this situation, we will partially revise the application items to more carefully grasp the applicant's own awareness of issues and worldview they wish to realize in their "VISION," as well as the ingenuity and trial-and-error in the creation process.

Specifically, we will revise the content of items that convey the participant's unique perspectives and ingenuity, such as "the trigger for creating the work" and "parts focused on during production," to allow for more detailed entries. Furthermore, if generative AI is used, the roles played by the applicant and the generative AI will be confirmed.

Judging will be conducted not only on the completeness of the work itself, but also on the participant's own ideas, problem-solving attitude, and how they utilize technologies including generative AI.

"Tech Kids Grand Prix 2026" looks forward to receiving applications from elementary school students across Japan with works filled with their free ideas.

"Tech Kids Grand Prix 2026" Event Overview

Name: Tech Kids Grand Prix 2026 Supported by Cygames

Content: Programming contest for elementary school students

Target Audience: Elementary school students residing or attending school in Japan, or holding Japanese nationality.

(Date of Birth: April 2, 2014 - April 1, 2020)

Works to be Submitted: Application game works developed using computer programming (Works requiring special hardware such as robots or electronic devices are not permitted).

Language: Not specified

Awards: Grand Prize, Sponsor Awards, etc.

Prize Money: Total of 1,000,000 yen

Details: Please see HP

https://techkidsschool.jp/grandprix/

Organizers: TV Asahi Corporation / CA Tech Kids Inc.

Sponsor: Cygames, Inc. (As of July 2026)

Endorsed by: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology / Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry / Digital Agency / Hokkaido Prefectural Board of Education / Aomori Prefectural Board of Education / Iwate Prefectural Board of Education / Miyagi Prefectural Board of Education / Akita Prefectural Board of Education / Yamagata Prefectural Board of Education / Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education / Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education / Tochigi Prefectural Board of Education / Gunma Prefectural Board of Education / Chiba Prefectural Board of Education / Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education / Niigata Prefectural Board of Education / Toyama Prefectural Board of Education / Fukui Prefectural Board of Education / Yamanashi Prefectural Board of Education / Nagano Prefectural Board of Education / Shizuoka Prefectural Board of Education / Aichi Prefectural Board of Education / Mie Prefectural Board of Education / Shiga Prefectural Board of Education / Kyoto Prefectural Board of Education / Osaka Prefectural Board of Education / Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education / Nara Prefectural Board of Education / Wakayama Prefectural Board of Education / Tottori Prefectural Board of Education / Shimane Prefectural Board of Education / Okayama Prefectural Board of Education / Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education / Yamaguchi Prefectural Board of Education / Kagawa Prefectural Board of Education / Kochi Prefectural Board of Education / Ehime Prefectural Board of Education / Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education / Oita Prefectural Board of Education / Kumamoto Prefectural Board of Education / Nagasaki Prefectural Board of Education / Miyazaki Prefectural Board of Education / Kagoshima Prefectural Board of Education / Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education (As of July 2026)

Operational Cooperation: Yamagata TV Inc. / Hiroshima Home TV Co., Ltd. / Setouchi Broadcasting Co., Ltd. / Kumamoto Asahi Broadcasting Co., Ltd. / Nagasaki Culture Broadcasting Co., Ltd. / KBC Co., Ltd. (As of July 2026)

(*1) Based on information from each contest's website, our company's research on programming contests for elementary school students (targeting software programming such as app and game development) (As of May 2026)