That Kagawa, Japan video game law that would keep individuals under the age of 18 from playing games for over an hour most days is facing opposition from one of the people it limits. A 17-year-old only going by the name Wataru is attempting to crowdfund a lawsuit with his lawyer, Tomoshi Sakka, to challenge the law that limits how often children should be playing games. [Thanks, International Business Times!]
The Kagawa, Japan video game law went into effect on April 1, 2020. The most basic elements of it limited people under the age of 18 to 60 minutes of video games from Monday until Friday, then 90 minutes of gaming time on Saturday and Sunday. Another element of it would try to keep children under 15 from using phones after 9pm local time and from 15 to 18 from using them after 10pm local time.
As noted by IB Times, Wataru made a number of statements to AFP explaining why he would be pursuing the lawsuit. In one, he noted the law’s rules are flawed. “They’re based on the premise that gaming is the cause of things like truancy and addiction to games. But it could be the other way around–truancy can be caused by problems in school, for example, and for some people playing games can be the only relief." Wataru also said, “How long children are allowed to play games or use a smartphone should be rules set by each family, not by the government."
