By SCMP’s Asia desk

Copyright scmp

The mayor of a central Japanese city has defended an unusual new ordinance that urges residents to limit their personal smartphone use to just two hours per day, saying the guideline is intended to encourage better sleep and stronger family relationships, not to police private behaviour.
Starting on Wednesday, residents of Toyoake in Aichi prefecture will be asked to limit their device use during leisure hours – defined as time outside work, study and daily necessities – to about two hours per day. The city has also advised that primary school-aged children refrain from using their devices after 9pm and older students after 10pm.
While the ordinance contains no penalties or enforcement mechanisms, it has sparked widespread attention. Some have praised it as a needed intervention, but numerous critics have also accused the city of overstepping its role.
Mayor Masafumi Koki, who led the initiative, insists the policy is a symbolic one aimed at encouraging self-reflection rather than forcing people to change their behaviours.
“People thought we were trying to impose a strict time limit. That’s not the case at all,” Koki said in a recent interview, as quoted by Kyodo News. “We’re not trying to control anyone.”
The measure, which the city assembly passed by majority vote on September 22, is believed to be the first in Japan to promote a daily screen-time cap for all residents, not just children. It applies only to voluntary screen time, excluding schoolwork, job-related use and household tasks.
Koki, a father himself, said he was motivated by reports from local health staff and educators, who observed that children as young as toddlers were spending prolonged hours starting at screens.

The city has said the ordinance’s primary purpose is to “ensure that all citizens receive adequate sleep”. Officials say Japanese citizens tend to get less sleep than people in other countries.
The decision to create a formal ordinance, rather than a slogan or leaflet, was reportedly aimed at giving the message weight without creating legal obligations. A supplementary resolution passed by the assembly emphasised the importance of respecting individual lifestyles and diversity, and pledged to gather public feedback and review the policy’s effects.
According to the city, more than 300 phone calls, letters and emails were received about the initiative between August and September, with roughly 70 per cent opposed to the plan and 30 per cent in support. While some asked for stricter enforcement, others said the government had no business making personal lifestyle suggestions.
Despite the opposition, Koki said the ordinance’s real value lay in prompting people to confront their own screen time.
They’ll stop and think about how long they really use their smartphone. That’s the point
Masafumi Koki, Toyoake mayor
“If someone hears two hours, they’ll stop and think about how long they really use their smartphone. That’s the point,” he said.
In materials released after the vote, the mayor’s office said that exceeding the two-hour guideline – even by three to four hours – was acceptable, provided sleep and family communication were not being disrupted.
The ordinance encourages guardians to set household rules, including for themselves. At his own dinner table, Koki said his wife introduced a “no phones” rule that helped reduce arguments with their daughter over screen use during family time.
Toyoake’s initiative joins a growing list of government efforts globally to address concerns about screen overuse, especially among young people.
In South Korea, a new law will take effect in March banning smartphone use during class hours in all elementary and secondary schools, with schools given flexibility to set rules and exceptions. The policy follows earlier guidance from the education ministry and comes amid efforts to reduce distraction and dependency in classrooms.
Meanwhile, Australia is preparing to introduce new rules requiring social media platforms, including TikTok and Instagram, to take “reasonable steps” to prevent users under the age of 16 from maintaining and creating accounts. Platforms that fail to comply face fines of up to A$49.5million (US$32.5 million) when the law takes effect in December.