KYODO NEWS - Jul 25, 2017 - 19:45 | Lifestyle, All

A Japanese mobile phone service provider will release in August a smartphone that only works during daytime hours in an effort to restrict elementary school students' screen time, the company said Tuesday.

The product, named "Tone m17" and developed by Tone Mobile Inc., reflected parents' requests for a phone which allows children to be contactable during the day but without the drawbacks associated with device overuse.

The smartphone is initially set to be automatically locked between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. for users who are 12 years old or younger. Their parents can modify the settings to shorten the period which the phone is unusable and even completely unlock the device.

The phone will go on sale on Aug. 1 priced at 34,800 yen ($312) at some Tsutaya stores. The movie and music rental and bookshop chain is operated by Culture Convenience Club Co., the parent company of Tone Mobile.

Other notable functions of the smartphone include limiting access to applications such as messaging app Line and automatically locking the device when entering preregistered places including schools.