The city of Toyoake, in Aichi Prefecture, is considering a draft ordinance that would recommend that all residents use smartphones for no more than two hours a day. The local government explains that the document aims to combat internet addiction and sleep problems, which are increasingly being reported among Japanese people.
The city of Toyoake, in Aichi Prefecture, is considering a draft ordinance that would recommend that all residents use smartphones for no more than two hours a day. The local government explains that the document aims to combat internet addiction and sleep problems, which are increasingly being reported among Japanese people.
According to The Guardian, debates on the resolution have already started in the municipal assembly, and a vote is scheduled for the end of September. If approved, the document will come into force in October. There are no sanctions for exceeding the limit, and this is more of a recommendation than a hard rule.
According to the project, younger schoolchildren (6–12 years old) and even younger children should give up gadgets after 9:00 p.m. For teenagers and adults, the recommended time to give up smartphones begins at 10:00 p.m.
The announcement sparked a wave of criticism on social media, with some users saying it was a «restriction of freedom» and that two hours a day was a completely unrealistic requirement.
«This time is not even enough to watch a movie or finish reading a book on your phone,» commentators note.
Mayor Masafumi Koki explained that the initiative is not mandatory and is not aimed at punishment.
«I hope this will be an opportunity for families to discuss how much time they spend on smartphones and when they use them,» he said.
According to Koki, the city is seeing cases of truancy among schoolchildren who cannot part with their smartphones, as well as problems among adults who prefer gadgets over rest or communication with family.
According to the Mainichi Shimbun, after the publication of the project, the city authorities received over 120 appeals, and approximately 80% of them were negative.
Toyoake, with a population of about 69,000, will become the first city in Japan to try to impose similar restrictions on all residents at the same time.
However, similar initiatives have already been taken in the country: in 2020, the western region of Kagawa passed a regulation recommending that children not play video games for more than an hour on weekdays and 90 minutes on weekends. However, even then, the norm was advisory in nature.
The new restriction is linked to a global trend: according to a survey by the Children and Families Agency, Japanese youth spend an average of more than five hours online every day on weekdays. Experts emphasize that exceeding this figure negatively affects mental health, sleep and social connections.
Previously, dev.ua also wrote about a small technology company in Osaka, Japan, which offers its employees free alcoholic beverages during working hours and a special «hangover pass» that allows them to be late for work if they have a hangover.
