Two-hour daily smartphone limit proposed in Japan
A Japanese city would 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 would be recommended for all residents in Toyoake City — would not be binding and there would be no penalties incurred for higher usage, the draft ordinance showed.
The proposal aims “to prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues… including sleep problems,” Mayor Masafumi Koki said.
The draft urges elementary-school students to avoid smartphones after 9pm, and junior-high students and older are advised not to use them after 10pm.
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 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 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 would be considered next week, and if passed, it would come into effect in October.
In 2020, Japan’s western Kagawa region 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 aged 12 to 15 should not be allowed to use smartphones later than 9pm, with the limit rising to 10pm for children between 15 and 18.
Japanese youth spend slightly more than five hours on average a day online on weekdays, a Children and Families Agency survey published in March showed.
