Make kids go out on hot days to prevent poor vision? Parents puzzled by Japan gov’t advice

TOKYO — Some parents and guardians in Japan are puzzled by the education ministry’s call for children to play outdoors to prevent poor vision as the scorching summer heat continues.

The ministry on July 31 released the results of a vision survey among elementary and junior high school students conducted in the 2021 to 2023 school years. The ministry has been urging children to play outside as much as possible to prevent decreased vision on the grounds that myopia, a condition that makes it difficult to see longer distances, tends to increase in the lower grades of elementary school. However, some guardians have voiced their concerns, saying that it is difficult to make children play outdoors because it is so hot every day.

The survey was conducted for the first time to ascertain the actual state of failing vision among children. The education ministry selected a total of some 9,000 elementary and junior high school students in nine prefectures, including Tokyo, to check their eyesight and ask about their outside playing habits. A three-year follow-up survey was also conducted on approximately 5,200 of these children.

The percentage of students with naked eye visual acuity of less than 0.3 (equivalent of between 20/63 and 20/80 in standard U.S. measurements) was in the 1% range in the first grade of elementary school, but this increased in proportion to age, rising to roughly 30% among the third-year junior high school students. The follow-up survey by grade revealed that 91 of about 730 first graders in the 2021 school year were classified as near-sighted, but the number nearly tripled to 264 in the 2023 school year, when they were in the third grade, showing the highest rate of poor vision increase by grade.

The relationship between outdoor activities and visual acuity was also examined, with some data suggesting that children who often play outside have less vision decline. No relationship was found between frequency of smartphone or handheld game console use and visual degradation.

The ministry states that the study “showed that outdoor activities are to be recommended,” and calls for children to proactively spend time outdoors during recess and at least two hours outdoors on holidays. It also says that measures to prevent heatstroke are also necessary, and that spending time in the shade of trees and buildings is also a possibility.

In response to this call, a parent in their 40s in Tokyo who has a daughter in first grade seemed puzzled, saying, “Does this mean children should idle their time away in the shade of trees in the summer? It’s hot enough even in tree shade these days.”

A representative of an after-school care facility attached to an elementary school in Tokyo said, “Considering their eyesight, we want to incorporate as much outdoor play as possible, but we can’t just decide on activities based on that alone.”

An education ministry official commented, “We are not forcing them to secure time for children to be outdoors, but we would like them to be aware of the relationship between outdoor activities and visual acuity.”

(Japanese original by Buntaro Saito, Tokyo City News Department)