Tokyo: In an unusual move to curb smartphone addiction in kids, a Japanese city is banning schoolchildren from using cellphones after 9 pm.
The ban, however, will not be binding and whether to follow the rule will be left to each family.
Starting from April, 13,000 students in elementary and junior high schools in Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, will have to hand their cellphones over to their parents at 9 pm each evening.
"We will start this (rule) to give children a reason (to get away from cellphones)," Karigane Junior High School Principal Fushitoshi Ohashi told `The Japan Times`.
Ohashi heads a local group of teachers, social workers and police which came up with the idea several months ago.
According to Ohashi, some parents have said the rule will make it easier for them to tell their children to stop playing games on their phones, which can last late into the night.
However, since the rule will have no binding power, there will be no punishment for students who do not follow it, Ohashi said.
Kariya has about 13,000 elementary and junior high school students and a survey conducted in November last year showed that 58.2 per cent of junior high school students have cellphones.
