Japanese Government Researches Game Effects

Thanks to GamePro for their article discussing the Japanese Government's announcement that they plan to conduct a 10-year research study on the effects of video games upon children. According to the article, "The study will record their basic lifestyle patterns, including how much TV they watch and how many games they play, and the ministry will gauge their mental health and emotional personality through neural scans and questionnaires sent to their parents." Games in Japan are being implicated in "reduced brain-wave activity" and as a possible trigger in a Nagasaki kidnap/murder, so careful analysis is planned to see if game players really end up "...shunning social activity and losing one's temper easily."