Photo/Illutration A student in Tokyo plays a computer game on his smartphone while observing other gamers on a tablet device. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Nearly 60 percent of respondents in an Asahi Shimbun survey disagreed with plans by a prefectural assembly to tackle addiction to computer games with an ordinance limiting the time youngsters spend on their videogame consoles and other devices.

At issue were plans in Kagawa Prefecture to restrict usage of those devices among minors to just one hour a day. Fifty-seven percent of respondents in the survey opposed setting a rough standard for such activity.

The telephone survey carried out Jan. 25-26 canvassed the views of 2,166 respondents on the issue. Thirty-one percent of respondents agreed with the move by the Kagawa prefectural assembly.

Among male respondents, 26 percent agreed. The figure for female respondents was 36 percent.

Seventy-five percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 disagreed. Forty percent of respondents aged 70 or older agreed while 39 percent of them disagreed.

On the island of Shikoku, where Kagawa Prefecture is located, those for and against were about equally divided. But in other regions, those who disagreed outnumbered those who agreed.

Respondents were contacted through home phone or mobile numbers selected at random by a computer. Those answering on a landline came to 1,060, while mobile phone users numbered 1,106 people.

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