Tokyo, June 3 -- A government panel in Japan on Tuesday called for strengthening the responsibilities of social media operators by requiring them to have stricter age verification and restricting some features, in a list of proposed measures to protect underage social media users, Kyodo News reported.

According to Kyodo News, the panel of the communications ministry noted that a blanket age-based ban, such as those seen in other countries, may not be appropriate, as social media serves as an important communication tool.

The draft report highlighted that measures aimed at reducing youth's dependency on such services so as to safeguard their physical and mental health.

The development comes amid widespread adoption of smartphones and so...