Japanese city proposes two-hour daily limit for smartphone use

The Japan Times - The city of Toyoake in Aichi Prefecture will urge all smartphone users to limit screen time to two hours a day outside work or school under a proposed ordinance that includes no penalties.

The limit — which will be recommended for all residents in the city — will not be binding and there will be no penalties incurred for higher usage, according to the draft ordinance.

The proposal aims "to prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues ... including sleep problems," Toyoake Mayor Masafumi Koki said in a statement on Friday.

The draft urges elementary school students to avoid using smartphones after 9 p.m., and advises junior high school students and those older not to use them after 10 p.m.

The move prompted an online backlash, with many calling the plan unrealistic.

"I understand their intention, but the two-hour limit is impossible," one user wrote on social media platform X.

"In two hours, I cannot even read a book or watch a movie (on my smartphone)," wrote another.

Others said smartphone use should be a decision for families to make for themselves.

The angry response prompted the mayor to clarify that the two-hour limit was not mandatory, emphasizing that the guidelines "acknowledge smartphones are useful and indispensable in daily life."

The ordinance will be considered next week, and if passed, it will come into effect in October.

In 2020, the Kagawa Prefectural Government issued a first-of-its-kind ordinance calling for children to be limited to an hour a day of gaming during the week, and 90 minutes during school holidays.

It also suggested children between the ages of 12 and 15 should not be allowed to use smartphones later than 9 p.m., with the limit rising to 10 p.m. for those between 15 and 18.

On average, Japanese youth spend slightly over five hours a day online on weekdays, according to a survey published in March by the Children and Families Agency.