Japan city aims to ban phone use while walking

People using smartphones has rapidly increased and so have the number of accidents

Last updated: June 01, 2020 | 16:23

AFP and Compiled by Christian Borbon, Digital Content Editor

2 MIN READ

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It is a scene repeated the world over: pedestrians glued to their phones while walking, causing collisions and sometimes accidents. No more, says one Japanese city.

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Officials in Yamato city, near Tokyo, on Monday submitted a bill to the city assembly to stop people from using their phones while walking.

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"The number of people using smartphones has rapidly increased and so have the number of accidents" in the densely populated area, city official Masaaki Yasumi told AFP. | People walk across the Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo.

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"We want to prevent that," he said, adding if passed it would be the first such ban in Japan. | A passerby wearing a protective face mask walks on the street in Tokyo.

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But Yasumi said there will be no punishment for those unable to tear themselves away from their screens in the street.

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"We hope the ban will raise more awareness about the dangers," he said. Posters and messages will inform citizens of the rule, expected to take effect from next month.

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In 2014, research by Japanese mobile giant NTT Docomo estimated a pedestrian's average field of vision while staring down at a smartphone is five percent of what our eyes take in normally. | People wearing face masks cross a street in Tokyo.

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The company ran a computer simulation of what would occur if 1,500 people used the hectic Shibuya pedestrian crossing in Tokyo while all looking at their smartphones.

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The results showed that two-thirds would not make it to the other side without incident, with 446 collisions, 103 people being knocked down and 21 dropping their phones.

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The number of accidents between people using phones while riding a bicycle and pedestrians is also increasing in Japan.

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In some cases, victims' families demand up to 100 million yen ($1 million) in compensation. | A woman using his phone walks across a zebra crossing in Tokyo.

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