pan and the other five countries in the response rate for “chat and communicate with friends, acquaintances, and partners.” However, the response rates for family topics or topics about society, work, or health tended to be lower in Japan than in the other countries.

From these results, we can surmise that one characteristic of SNS use in Japan is an awareness of privacy among friends or groups of acquaintances.

## (ii) Literacy education about SNS

Around 20 percent of Japanese respondents said they had taken literacy education or training on the use of SNS, which was a lower rate than in the other five countries. When the results were narrowed to just smartphone owners, this rate rose to close to 30 percent in Japan. When limited to the 10 to 29 group of young people, the response rate of those who had taken literacy education or training increased in all the countries, including Japan (Figure 4-3-1-5). These results indicate that literacy education about the use of SNS starting to spread in Japan, particularly in the youth cohort.

## (3) Initiatives on proper ICT practices

### a. Initiatives by private sector organizations

The Japan Internet Safety Promotion Association, set up as an initiative to establish usage environments for mobile phones and the Internet, carries out public awareness activities in local communities. It works to enhance explanations, such as creating usage rules, at homes and schools about to adopt smartphones or social media, it lists on its Website classes on Internet safety and security provided for free by member enterprises and organizations, and it encourages ICT use at schools and local communities by publishing classes that do not require instructor fees or transportation charges. The Japan Social Game Association (JASGA) began in January 2014 to publicize the development of educational apps for elementary-school-aged children and to carry out public awareness activities, with the aim of educating people about the safe and secure use of social games.

### b. Initiatives in local regions

The Second Basic Plan on Development of Internet Enhancement for Young People calls for stronger ties between the national government, local governments, and nongovernmental organizations. This spawned, starting in FY 2013, forums for building an environment that provides safe and secure Internet use for young people in eight national blocks. The forums, with the sponsorship of the Cabinet Office, prefectures, cities, and national administrative institutions, aim to construct platforms that will allow institutions and organizations related to promoting the establishment of Internet usage environments for young people in each region to work together and independently carry out various initiatives. Participants include guardians, local governments, schools and educators, police, and communication corporations. Forums are scheduled to be held in six places nationwide in 2014.

### c. Initiatives by governments

The Basic Plan on Measures for Providing Safe and Secure Internet Use for Young People was established and implemented throughout government in June 2009 as an initiative for young people, who will lead the future of our country, to properly handle ICT. This was followed by the Second Basic Plan, under which initiatives are being undertaken by the national government, local governments, businesses, and private organizations.

With the recognition that establishing environments in which young people, after understanding the risks associated with Internet use and measures to prevent risks, can use smartphones and other devices correctly, has become even more important than in the past, the Cabinet Office, MIC, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the IT Strategic Headquarters under the Cabinet Secretariat, the National Policy Agency, the Consumer Affairs Agency, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology have been concentrating on developing these environments under an initiative on public awareness for young people and their guardians since 2014.

Figure 4-3-1-5 Literacy education or training