This Japanese city wants you to put your phone down

Police won't be rounding up people glued to phones in Japan's Toyoake, but the mayor believes his two-hour limit can help residents find a healthier relationship with their screens.

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Masafumi Kouki said he has worried for many months about the “negative effects of excessive smartphone use, especially the sharp decrease in direct human communication”.

“Even on trains, everyone just stares at their phones and no-one talks anymore,” he said.

“I don’t believe this should be considered normal, so I wanted to create an opportunity for our residents to reflect on whether they might be overusing their smartphones.”

A local ordinance on the appropriate use of phones, laptops and tablets came into force last week in Toyoake, a largely grey, concrete suburb of the industrial metropolis Nagoya.