Japan Prefecture’s Proposed Screen Limits Draw Backlash

Girl playing video games while skeptical parents look on
Kagawa Prefecture is proposing strict limits on kids' screen time - but critics say the Prefectural Assembly's approach is played out.

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Apropos of seemingly nothing, Kagawa Prefecture in Japan is proposing that parents severely restrict their kids’ screen time. The proposal has been met with a wave of criticism both in Japan and abroad, with many arguing that the strict limits have no basis in science.

The Proposal

Kagawa Prefecture went public with its proposed regulation early in January. According to Nikkei, the Proposed Regulation for Addressing Net and Video Game Dependence ( ネット・ゲーム依存症対策条例 ; netto, geimu izonshou taisaku jourei) would see parents limit their kids’ total screen time – cell phones and video games included – to one hour a day during the week. Kids would be allotted a generous 90 minutes per day on weekends and holidays. Middle school kids would be limited to using their screens up until 9pm, while high schoolers would have until 10pm.

オンラインゲームに時間制限 香川県、依存防止へ条例案 – 日本経済新聞

インターネットやオンラインゲームなどの過度な使用が社会問題となる中、香川県は10日、全国初となる「ネット・ゲーム依存症対策条例」(仮称)の制定に向け、オンラインゲームの使用時間制限を具体化した素案を明らかにした。使用時間の上限は18歳未満で1日60分、土日や祝日、長期休暇を含めた休日は90分とした。ただ、罰則規定などはないため、実効性は不透明だ。2月定例会での議員発議を経て、4月の条例施行を目指

(JP) Link: Time Limits for Online Games: In Kagawa, a Regulation for Preventing Dependence

According to Nikkei, the rule was born in reaction to the World Health Organization’s classification of game dependence as an illness. However, WHO doesn’t define a daily time limit that counts as “dependence.” Rather, it defines dependence as a level of engagement that significantly interferes with someone’s ability to function in society for a year or more. Japan’s Ministry of Health and Labor estimates that some 12% of Japan’s middle school students fit this definition of “dependence” on video games.

The Response: “No Basis in Scientific Fact”

Picture: y.uemura / PIXTA(ピクスタ)

The first thing you may wonder is: How would you enforce such a law? Well, the wise old men of Kagawa Prefecture didn’t tell us. The rule would carry no financial penalties, making it practically unenforceable.

The next question that arises is: why one hour? Where did this magical number come from? Is it even possible to use your phone for less than one hour in the modern era?

The answers to those questions remain a mystery. Perhaps sensing the backlash that their proposal would generate, the Kagawa Prefectural Assembly committee tasked with debating this regulation chose not to record the proceedings. That means there’s no public record of their debate. (I wager that, had they recorded it, we’d have discovered that the committee behing this regulation knows as much about computers as Japan’s former Cybersecurity chief.)

The Prefectural Assembly is now accepting public comment while it considers whether to make the proposal law. And oh boy, is the public commenting. The Japan Chapter of the International Game Developer’s Association has lambasted the proposal as “ill-considered,” and blasted the committee for not consulting experts. Others have expressed concern that, despite the law having no teeth, it could set a precedent for other laws that aim to regulate free behavior.

Not everyone is opposed, however. Writing for Toyo Keizai, digital media critic Okayasu Manabu likes the idea of a regulation in theory. However, he argues, the law should be founded in actual data – and should have some method of measuring its effectiveness.

香川県の「ゲーム規制」は正しいと言えるのか

1月10日に香川県議会が提出した「ネット・ゲーム依存症対策条例」の素案について、各所で話題になっています。強制力のない条例なので、施行したところで意味がないと見る人もいれば、強制力がなくとも規制が世間…

(JP) Link: Is Kagawa Prefecture’s “Game Limit” Right?

まず、現時点で香川県のネット・ゲーム依存症の18歳未満がどれだけいるのか、全国の平均と比べてみる必要があると思います。そして、何年施行することで結果が表れるかを検証し、ゲームのプレー時間を短くしたことで、全国平均と比べて、ネット・ゲーム依存症の人が減っているのかを確認しなくてはなりません。

First, we have to establish how many people in Kagawa under 18 suffer from net and game addiction, and how that compares with the country as a whole. Then we need a way to validate after a number of years whether what the result is, and whether it helped reduce game time and net/game dependence relative to the rest of the country.

The subject of dependence is a recurring one in Japanese media. High profile drug busts of celebrities have sparked discussion around treatment versus punishment. And the prevalence of “strong” alcoholic drinks have renewed concerns around alcoholism as well. So it’s natural that some people would turn their attention to video game and net addiction.

It’s disturbing, however, to see a legislative body make up policy out of whole cloth. As IGDA noted in their response, anti-gambling programs in Japan haven’t done anything to curb gambling addiction. It remains to be seen whether the Assembly will push this law through as is – or heed its critics’ advice and consult actual experts before acting rashly.

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