Remember that sign on the ground about NO SMOKING while you are on the street?
Well, now there are signs also telling you to stop using your phone (at least while walking). The ground sign asks you not to use your smart-phone at all while walking, while the large yellow sign particularly singles out “texting” as an undesired activity while walking. There are other signs which put ‘safety’ as the reason for trying to discourage such behaviour.
However, there are now occasional reports in the press about people looking at their phone in public being deliberately bumped or pushed by angry other pedestrians. And a Japanese friend of ours (older woman) who had stopped to look at a map on her phone was approached by a well-dressed Japanese businessman who forcefully told her off for such behaviour.
MORAL: find a quiet spot out of everyone’s way before looking at your phone.
Japan Tourist Tips 