TOKYO REPORT: Japan to Survey Gaming Disorder under WHO Definition

Tokyo, Oct. 15 (Jiji Press)--Japan's health ministry will conduct a fact-finding survey of gaming disorder as early as the current fiscal year, ahead of the World Health Organization's possible addition of the behavior pattern to the International Classification of Diseases. Gaming disorder is characterized as "impaired control" over digital or video gaming, which is given priority over other activities to the extent of "significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning" for at least 12 months despite negative consequences, according to the WHO. In June, the specialized U.N. agency announced a plan to add gaming disorder to the final draft of a revised ICD due to be adopted in May next year. Some 1,500 people annually visit the National Hospital Organization Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, for addiction to the Internet. "Among the pathological Internet users who visit us as outpatients, 90 pct are gaming addicts and most of them are aged between 10 and 19," said Susumu Higuchi, director of the medical center. The patients include those who have become malnourished, shut themselves off from society or incurred huge debts because of gaming fees, as a result of playing games for excessively long hours such as 18 per day. The number of people with gaming disorder is increasing due to the widespread availability of smartphone games. With gaming companies holding special events and updating content on a regular basis, they have become "very strategic" in luring players, Higuchi said. The U.S. gaming industry opposes the WHO's plan to add gaming disorder to the ICD, citing a scarcity of evidence proving that gaming is a source of addiction. The Computer Entertainment Suppliers' Association, a group of gaming companies in Japan, is publicizing the availability of measures against addition, such as apps to limit the length of game play, on its website and through game-related information magazines. At the 2018 Tokyo Game Show in September, the association distributed information on mechanisms of how the human brain dives into gaming. Promoting esports competitive video games, the Japanese gaming industry is unwilling to accept restrictions aimed at preventing gaming disorder. "Gaming forms an important industry, but at the same time it is seen affecting daily lives including sleep and schoolwork," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference, suggesting a need for surveying the state of affairs and introducing any measures needed to prevent gaming disorder. Among the limited number of countries to have adopted such measures, South Korea shuts off juveniles' access to online games late at night. But Higuchi said, "The effects of the policy have yet to be examined." As Japan has not yet conducted any surveys focused on gaming disorder, the number of people suffering from it remains unknown. In cooperation with medical institutions, therefore, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will start research in the current year to March at the earliest to find out the number of people with gaming disorder and the effects of the "disease" on their daily lives. END