This study aims at analyzing the trend in the use of information and communications technology (ICT) for developing reading literacy in schools in Japan. For this purpose, first the study explains the trend in language education in the educational reform movement in Japan. Second, it explains the trend in the use of ICT in each subject in this movement. Third, the application and effectiveness of ICT in developing reading literacy within and outside schools through a trial use of the system is described. The following results on the development of reading literacy by using digital text were obtained: (1) The use of digital textbooks helped the teachers in making students focus on the sentences and words in the printed textbook; (2) the use of text, pictures, and movies in the digital textbooks encouraged the students to read the contents of the textbook and make efforts to grasp the meaning of the sentences; (3) the digital textbook on the interactive board encouraged the students to communicate more actively during the lesson; and (4) it helped students grasp the use of the hyperlink function. The evaluation of the trial use of ICT also revealed the following results: When a digital textbook was used in the lesson, the students with unsatisfactory achievement test scores became very interested in the reading class. However, when the teacher did not further develop the learning method (discussion, group work, devices suitable for individual needs, etc.), the student's interest declined after a few classes. Moreover, an improvement in the achievement test scores was rarely observed. However, when a digital textbook was used in the lesson, the student with average achievement test scores showed more improved results (Toyoda and Nonaka, 2007, 2008).