Will Japan follow Australia’s lead and ban children from social media?

2026-03-18 - 00:02

A Japanese government agency has opened discussions on imposing a ban on children accessing social media sites, potentially following Australia’s lead in prohibiting under-16s from the most popular online platforms. Experts say it is far too early to determine whether the Australian experiment is a success and can be replicated in Japan, although there is a widely held belief that more is needed to limit the negative consequences of unfettered internet access to youth. In January, Japan’s...