A city in central Japan is proposing to limit smartphone use to two hours a day, in what is believed to be the first ordinance of its kind in the country.
According to Independent, Toyoake, a municipality in Aichi Prefecture, submitted the bill to its local assembly this week.
The draft measure encourages families to discuss how much time they spend on devices and to set evening cut-offs, with suggested limits of 9pm for primary school children and 10pm for older students and adults.
Mayor Masafumi Koki said the aim was not to restrict rights or impose penalties, but to highlight the impact of excessive screen time on health, education and family life.
“I hope this serves as an opportunity for each family to think about and discuss the time spent on smartphones as well as the time of day the devices are used,” he told reporters, according to the Mainichi newspaper.
The city said it had drawn on government health ministry data when setting the two-hour guideline, citing concerns that long hours on phones are linked to sleep loss, weakened social ties, and truancy among children.
Officials pointed to cases of young people becoming withdrawn from school and reliant on smartphones at home.
