### a. Local government survey results on education

In the area of education, the local government survey found the most common initiatives that local governments are currently either running or participating in / cooperating with are “interactive whiteboards and digital textbooks” (69.5 percent), “local cultural promotion with digital museums and other programs” (20.5 percent), and “distance learning between schools” (8.9 percent). In contrast to current initiatives, looking to the future the most common local government plan was “improving ICT literacy with e-Learning” (4.9 percent) (Figure 4-2-3-3).

### c. Government ICT use and application initiatives in education

The Declaration to be the World's Most Advanced IT Nation calls for the incorporation of IT in classrooms at all elementary schools, junior-high schools, high schools, and special needs schools during the 2010 decade as well as for the construction of education and learning IT environments that seamlessly connect schools and homes.

Figure 4-2-3-3 Survey results on education

## Section 3 Construction of Safe and Secure Internet Usage Conditions

# 1. Internet addiction and other new issues and the importance of Internet literacy

## (1) International comparison of Internet addiction trends

With the increased time spent on smartphones, tablets, and other devices as well as on social media, concerns have been raised about Internet addiction and its impact on real-world social life. Internet addiction has been defined as experiences of elevated anxiety levels that people have when not constantly engaged with the Internet.

Using the Young 20 test to assess Internet addiction, we analyzed the extent of Internet addiction in Japan from an international viewpoint by comparing results from the six-country Web survey mentioned in Section 1 of this chapter. Some points of caution must be given about this analysis and its results. Although we concentrated primarily on Internet users with a score of 70 or more on the test (indicating severe impairment due to Internet addiction), it does not always follow that someone in the 70 or higher category requires medical treatment for compulsive Internet behavior. Furthermore, this survey was an international Web survey to highlight Japan's characteristics in comparison with those of other countries, and, by the very nature of Web surveys, respondents are much more likely to be heavy Internet users than respondents to a paper survey.

## a) International comparison of Internet addiction trends

In all six countries where the international Web survey was conducted, the 10 to 29 age group had the highest Internet addiction tendency. The older the age group, the less pronounced this tendency was. In addition, the rate of Internet addiction was higher among smartphone owners than non-owners in all six countries.

Comparing the six countries’ Internet addiction rates in the prime 10 to 29 age group finds that although Japan’s rate was high, at over 10 percent, it was the second lowest after France. The rate was at or above 20 percent in the United States and the United Kingdom. Moreover, narrowing down the results to just smartphone owners did not produce a particularly high Internet addiction rate in Japan either. Since similar results were found in all the other age groups, there is no reason to single out Japan as having considerably high Internet addiction rates (Figure 4-3-1-1).

To see how differences in why people use the Internet might affect Internet addiction rates, respondents were asked to choose their main purpose for using the Inter-