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 Benesse Corporation has entered into a business partnership with LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. of California, a rapidly growing US manufacturer of educational products, to produce versions for Japan of LeapFrog main product, its interactive educational product known as the LeapPad.
Under the new business partnership, Benesse Corporation is partnering with LeapFrog to develop a product called the Q-pad for members of its Shinkenzemi study system.

Q-pad
1. Target students:
Members of Shinkenzemi course for first-year junior high school students
2. Software details:
April edition (English), August edition (English and other subjects), January edition (English and other subjects)
3. Functions:
An electromagnetic signal is transmitted between the tablet and the attached pen to determine the position. Based on the positioning information from the tablet, voice data contained in the ROM cartridge is played back. Sound is monaural.
4. Features:
(1) Newly designed version for junior high school students of the LeapPad product for young children.
(2) Compact main unit that is as easy to carry around as a notebook computer.
(3) Improved voice functions including a built-in speaker.
(4) Based on contents taught at school (vocabulary and grammar), contents are structured to incorporate the words and expressions often encountered in daily life.
(5) Matching the development stage of a junior high school student learning English for the first time, the system incorporates elements of self-learning know-how such as repetition, continuation and remembering the meaning.
(6) The software will be produced making model types that reflect the opinions of Shinkenzemi members.

Business Partnership
LeapFrog has entered into an agreement with the company with which it shares similar visions regarding education, products and customer support. LeapFrog is aiming to obtain the support of consumers in the Japanese market by utilizing Benesse educational know-how, education content production development strengths and strong sales networks.
Benesse, to match the change in Japanese school education from a system placing priority on knowledge to one fostering the qualities and abilities necessary for living, tries to change the concepts of Shinkenzemi study system. As one actual example of this, the Q-pad has been developed as an English-language teaching tool for building comprehensive communication skills, rather than just teaching reading and writing.

LeapPad
Since its release in 1999, the LeapPad learning system has become a hit product, gaining the support of many parents with young children and selling 5 million units throughout the United States. This popularity is due to (1) the special technology used, which is covered by multiple patents, (2) the contents that have been developed with specialist educators from Stanford University and other esteemed educational institutions; (3) its engaging interactive activities and delightful characters that capture the hearts of the children.