EXCLUSIVE: Japan to Conduct Gaming Disorder Survey within FY ’18

August 17, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's health ministry will conduct a survey within fiscal 2018 on gaming disorder, listed in the World Health Organization's new International Classification of Diseases released in June, Jiji Press learned Friday.

Following the WHO action, the ministry found it necessary to understand quickly the domestic situation on the newly defined disorder, including the number of sufferers, informed sources said.

The ministry plans to carry out the survey with cooperation from medical institutions, in order to see how many people are suspected of suffering gaming disorder and how gaming addiction affects daily lives, school achievements and jobs.

Based on the findings, the ministry will consider countermeasures.

Gaming disorder is characterized by a failure to control time spent on gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities and an inability to stop gaming despite negative consequences, according to WHO and other definitions.

The number of people with such gaming behavior is believed to be on the rise, given the growing popularity of online games. Details of the situation in Japan are not yet known, however.

The Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center is visited annually by some 1,500 people seeking advice and medical treatment over gaming-related problems.

The institution, located in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, has an outpatient department specializing in care for people addicted to online activities including gaming.

"About 90 pct of our outpatients with online addiction are gaming addicts, and most of them are young people," said Susumu Higuchi, head of the center. "The number of patients is rising above our capacity to accept reservations."

Some severe sufferers spend double their incomes on gaming, while others become reclusive, playing games without going to school, according to Higuchi.

In May next year, the WHO will present the new ICD version for adoption by its members. It will come into effect at the beginning of 2022.

The move may lead to increased calls for the gaming industry to take action on the issue, observers said. Jiji Press