Giving Compass' Take:

• Tamiko Kobayashi reports the results of a survey that found that 70% of children in rural and urban Japan alike do not play outside on weekdays, sparking concern and calls for intervention. 

• One problem cited is a lack of friends to play with, how can funders help to develop cultures of friendship and play? 

• Learn about the benefits of children playing outside. 

Over 70% of 2,986 elementary school students who responded to recent questionnaires in rural and urban Japan said they do not play outside on weekdays and over 10% do not even have friends to play with.

"Children won't play (outside) if they are left alone in this situation. We need social intervention to encourage kids to play outside," said Chiba University professor Isami Kinoshita, who is well acquainted with urban planning.

The questionnaires were conducted by Kinoshita's lab at the university. A paper-based survey was initially conducted on all primary school students in the city of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, in northeastern Japan, in fiscal 2017, and 1,847 responses were received.

According to the survey, 76% of children said they do not play outside during weekdays. Some 18% answered they do not have any friends to play with after school, while 29% had only one or two friends to play with.

Primary school children in three municipalities in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Fukushima and Gunma Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, were also surveyed and the results showed the same tendency -- except that the proportion of students who had no friends to play with rose to 20-30%.

Read the full article about kids in urban and rural Japan by Tamiko Kobayashi at The Mainichi.