Why This Topic Landed in Japan

France's parliament passed a bill barring children under 15 from using social media, with the government saying it should take effect in September once the Constitutional Council has reviewed it — which would make France the first country in Europe with such a law. Macron cast it as fulfilling a pledge to shield children online, citing school violence, bullying, and exposure to content about self-harm and drugs. In Japan the news landed on top of long-running domestic worries — teen social-media addiction, online bullying, and "yami baito" (shady, often criminal, gig recruitment that spreads through social apps) — which is why so many commenters immediately asked whether Japan should do the same. At the same time, a large share read the move through two other lenses: skepticism that any age check can actually be enforced, and unease that regulating platforms today could slide into controlling adults' speech tomorrow. A vein of cynicism about Japan copying foreign policy "just because" ran through the whole thread.

Key Reaction Themes

  • Support for regulating minors' access — Many backed a Japanese version, framing social media as a genuine risk to children through addiction, bullying, and criminal recruitment.
  • Doubts about enforceability — Others pointed to the technical difficulty of verifying age and the ease of workarounds, arguing a ban would be evaded anyway.
  • Free-speech unease — A vocal group called it a step toward censorship or denied anyone's right to regulate others, while a countercurrent mocked the panic as overblown.

What Japanese Netizens Are Saying

France passes the under-15 ban, with a September start planned

Europe's first age-gating of social media reopened a Japanese argument over whether to copy it and whether it can even work.

Sources: Nikkei, 2ch

Comments:

  • "It's a breeding ground for shady criminal gigs."
  • "This isn't censorship. Kids shouldn't be on social media in the first place — and at the same time, teaching net literacy in compulsory education matters too."
  • "For Japan, banning social media for under-20s would be about right."
  • "Very French way of doing it, but will it actually work? If you're going to do it, it has to be a total ban."
  • "Is there any scientific evidence that it actually does harm?"
  • "I don't think anyone has the right to regulate what other people do, whoever they are."
  • "'Censorship,' they cry — is social media really the only tool you people have?"
  • "Here comes the LDP's classic move: 'other countries are doing it, so we should too.'"
  • "They should ban foreign-made social media and push domestic ones instead."
  • "I've got a feeling this is going to trigger riots."