This City Limits The Use Of Gadgets For All Its Citizens A Maximum Of Two Hours A Day

Illustration. (Unsplash/Mathias Reding)

JAKARTA - The central Japanese city council on Monday passed regulations recommending all residents to limit the use of smartphones, video game consoles, and other digital devices for up to two hours a day outside of working hours and schools, although there will be no sanctions.

The regulation, imposed in the city of Towoake, Aichi Prefecture, comes amid concerns about the impact of excessive technology exposure and is believed to be Japan's first.

The plan, this regulation is scheduled to take effect on October 1.

Toyoake Mayor Masafumi Kouki told Kyodo News the city government set a time limit for using smartphones in the regulation based on healthy sleep guidelines from the Ministry of Health, Manpower, and Welfare, by calculating the average usage time on weekdays for two hours and concluding that exceeding these limits could result in sleep shortages, as quoted September 22.

While acknowledging the importance of smartphones, tablets, and other digital devices, the regulation warns excessive use of video streaming could have a bad impact, including sleep shortages and reduced family interactions.

The regulation urges elementary school children not to use smartphones after 21.00 p.m. and junior high school students to do so after 22.00 p.m., stating that "sleeping is quite important for physical and mental growth" for all children under the age of 18.

The regulation also urges guardians to establish rules for using devices at home, and city governments promise to build systems that receive consultations from parents.