Smartphone use is causing declining levels of healthy eyesight among children, according to the Japanese Government.

The finding comes from the country’s Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry. It found that the eye health of younger children in particular is rapidly declining.

Students who earned a healthy eyesight rating of 1.0 on the Japanese system — those who had 20/20 “normal” eyesight — came to just 31.4 percent in elementary school, 54.6 percent in junior high and nearly 66 percent in high school, according to a story Monday in The Japan Times.

The decline was pointed in one direction, with the ministry saying children have become “accustomed to watching things up close with the spread of smartphones, video games and other devices.”

Mobile gaming in Japan is said to be highly popular and could be partially to blame for excessive smartphone use among younger children. According to numbers from NewZoo, 41 percent of men and 32 percent of women in Japan play mobile games, making Japan the third-largest gaming market in the world.

Accusations that staring at devices may be bad for your eyesight is not new. Many people of a particular age may recall being told by their parents not to sit too close to a television in case it damages their eyesight.

Yet there is some science behind the claims. Staring at tiny screens is known to cause an array of eye issues, such as blurred vision, headaches, sore eyes, headaches, muscle strain and dry eye, some of which may lead to long-term damage.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology notes that staring at screens is at least partly responsible for a worldwide increase in nearsightedness.

The simple solution recommended by all experts is to limit screen time, but that’s easier said than done when it comes to children. Notably, playing outside is one way to improve eyesight health.

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