Australia enacted the world's first law in December 2025 banning under-16s from creating or maintaining social media accounts on 10 platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, with fines up to A$49.5 million (about 48.5 billion KRW) for platform violations. ^[1] Japan's Children and Families Agency reported on 2026-08-31 that a survey of about 100,000 people aged 15-39 conducted from 2026-05-20 to 2026-08-05 found that 53.2% of male and 59.7% of female respondents aged 15-19 agreed that SNS use by children under a certain age should be restricted. ^[2] Japan's Children and Families Agency reported that in its survey of 100,000 young people, 58.9% of unmarried Japanese men aged 30-34 and 62.8% of those aged 35-39 said they had no place other than their own home within their daily living area. ^[3] In July 2026, Kim Jong-cheol, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, said he would consider banning SNS account signups for children under 14 and limiting recommendation algorithm exposure for users aged 14-19, and noted that seven related bills are pending in parliament. ^[4] The European Commission is considering a staged approach allowing children and teens to access SNS by age, and the United Kingdom, Denmark and Greece are also discussing minimum age requirements for SNS use. ^[5] Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare published a 2024 Hikikomori Support Handbook that broadly defines support targets as socially isolated people who feel lonely or face difficulties, and sets autonomy - helping individuals choose their own desired life and social relationships at their own pace - as the support goal, rather than merely demanding social participation or employment. ^[6] The survey found that 51.7% of all valid respondents said they could not ask others for help, and 50.5% said they could not get along with people; among unmarried 30-somethings the shares unable to ask for help ranged from 53.3% (men 30-34) to 63.2% (women 35-39). ^[7]