Kagawa Prefecture's "Game Ordinance" Tour High School Students Sued "Constitutional Violation" Prefecture September 30 19:10
As a measure against addiction to games and the Internet, the Kagawa Prefecture Ordinance, which states that children should play games up to 60 minutes on weekdays, violates the Constitution, which guarantees free games as a basic human right. On the 30th, high school boys living in the prefecture filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the prefecture.
The complaint was filed by Wataru (17), a high school student living in Takamatsu City, and his mother, who filed the complaint with the Takamatsu District Court on the 30th.
Kagawa Prefecture's "Net Game Addiction Countermeasures Ordinance," which came into effect in April, requires children under the age of 18 to play games 60 minutes a day on weekdays and one day on holidays so that they do not become addicted. We ask parents to set rules up to 90 minutes.
According to the complaint, there is no scientific basis for setting a time limit so as not to lead to addiction, and deciding the time to play games freely at home is guaranteed by the Constitution as a basic human right, and the ordinance is such a right. We are seeking compensation of 1.6 million yen from the prefecture for violating the Constitution by limiting the number more than necessary.
After submitting the complaint to the court, Wataru held a press conference in Takamatsu City and said, "I am not playing the game as I expected because I am also observing the contents of the ordinance, but the time to play the game is intervened by the government. I don't think it's a thing. I want the court to issue an unconstitutional judgment. "
Regarding this complaint, Kagawa Prefecture says, "There is no information about the content of the complaint, so I would like to refrain from commenting."
Ordinance so far
The contents of Kagawa Prefecture's "Net Game Addiction Countermeasures Ordinance" have been discussed by a review committee consisting of 14 members belonging to the five parliamentary groups of the prefectural assembly.
When the draft presented in January included a provision that the usage time of games that could lead to addiction is limited to 60 minutes a day on weekdays, the pros and cons were divided, and some high school students filed a complaint on the 30th. , Submitted signatures to the prefectural assembly for about 600 people who opposed the draft ordinance.
Prior to the approval of the draft ordinance, the prefectural assembly made "public comments" for the citizens of Kagawa Prefecture, but of the 2686 opinions received by the review committee, about 90% were in favor of them. Was reported, but the original text of the opinion was not disclosed to the committee members before the vote, and while the members of the three factions opposed and abandoned at the plenary session in March, the ordinance was passed and passed by a large number of supporters. Was there.
After that, it was found that some of the positive opinions received had exactly the same wording content and transmission date, and even after the ordinance was enforced, the three parliamentary groups should verify the process of enacting the ordinance. In addition to applying to the chairman at that time, there were a series of statements from the chairman of the Kagawa Bar Association and petition from the citizens of the prefecture requesting the abolition of the ordinance.
On the other hand, the chairman of the prefectural assembly, who belonged to the largest parliamentary group, expressed the view that the necessity of the ordinance was clear, and the petition for the abolition of the ordinance was rejected due to opposition from the largest parliamentary group.
Obligation to make efforts in the ordinance Pay attention to the judgment of the judiciary
Kagawa Prefecture's "Net Game Addiction Countermeasures Ordinance" requires parents to set a guideline for playing games, but it is an obligation to make efforts and there are no penalties.
Takeshi Inoue, a professor at Kwansei Gakuin University, who specializes in constitutional law, said that while the ordinances that impose an obligation to make efforts affect human behavior, it is difficult to understand how much they limit individual rights. He points out that there were few conflicts.
On top of that, he said that it is a problem for some countries to expand their obligations to make efforts endlessly. "It is one of the points to pay attention to how far the court makes a decision in this case."