mm-news-@dmin TOKYO: Under a proposed legislation with no fines, a Japanese city will encourage all smartphone users to keep screen time outside of work or school to no more than two hours each day.
The draft legislation states that there would be no consequences for increased usage and that the limit, which is advised for all residents of Toyoake City in central Japan, will not be legally obligatory.
“To prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues… including sleep problems,” stated Mayor Masafumi Koki in a statement on Friday, describing the proposal’s goal.
The draft recommends that junior high school kids and older refrain from using their smartphones after 10:00 p.m., while elementary school pupils should refrain from using them after 9:00 p.m.
“In two hours, I cannot even read a book or watch a movie (on my smartphone),” added another.
Others said that families should decide for themselves whether or not to use smartphones.
The irate reaction forced the mayor to emphasize that the guidelines “acknowledge smartphones are useful and indipensable in daily life” and to stress that the two-hour limit was not required.
Next week, the ordinance will be discussed; if approved, it will take effect in October.
A first-of-its-kind legislation was published in 2020 by the western Kagawa region, which mandated that children be prohibited from gaming for more than an hour during the week and 90 minutes during the school vacations.
Additionally, it recommended that minors between the ages of 12 and 15 be prohibited from using smartphones after 9:00 p.m., with the age limit for those between the ages of 15 and 18 being raised to 10:00 p.m.
On weekdays, Japanese youth use the internet for just over five hours on average, according to a March Children and Families Agency poll.
