Kazumasa Nagashima Reveals Parenting Approach for His Twin Daughters, Now 22, Says They Were “The Only Ones in Class” – No Struggles Reported

When longtime Yomiuri Giants star and television personality Shigeo Nagashima revealed on national television that he kept smartphones away from his twin daughters until high school, the comment resonated far beyond Japan’s entertainment circles. The April 25th broadcast of “Shigeo Kisugino no Super Wide Show” featured the 60-year-old discussing his parenting philosophy amid growing national concern over youth smartphone dependency—a topic gaining traction in households from Fukuoka to Fairfax County, Virginia, where similar debates unfold at PTA meetings and school board sessions.

Nagashima’s stance—that his daughters received their first smartphones only upon entering high school, making them “the only ones in their class” without devices during middle school—strikes a chord in American communities grappling with digital saturation. In Northern Virginia, where Fairfax County Public Schools reported in 2025 that 78% of middle schoolers owned smartphones—a figure up 12 points from 2020—parents increasingly question whether delaying device access aligns with academic and social development goals. The former slugger’s emphasis on face-to-face interaction over digital communication echoes concerns raised by pediatricians at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., who note rising anxiety correlates with excessive screen time among adolescents.

The context extends beyond individual households. Nagashima’s critique of young people turning to AI for life advice—”Why ask AI? I decide my own actions”—reflects broader societal shifts. Meanwhile, his observation that smartphone dependency creates a “hollowed-out self” where “smartphone equals self” finds parallels in research from Stanford’s Social Media Lab, which links prolonged device use to diminished empathy in teens. For the Nagashima twins, now 22 and reportedly living abroad without issue, the outcome suggests delayed smartphone introduction didn’t hinder their adaptability—a data point relevant to Loudoun County families weighing similar choices.

This mindset intersects with local educational policies. Fairfax County’s 2024 Digital Wellness Initiative encourages schools to implement “phone-free zones” during lunch and study periods, mirroring Nagashima’s household approach. At Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, administrators piloted a program requiring students to store devices in lockers during core classes—a policy showing improved focus metrics in preliminary reports. Such measures aim to combat what Nagashima termed the “smartphone society” where human connection frays as digital and real-world social spheres diverge.

Given my background in analyzing media influence on youth development, if this trend impacts you in Northern Virginia, here are the three types of local professionals you necessitate:

• Adolescent Development Specialists: Seek licensed clinical social workers or child psychologists with specific training in digital wellness, preferably those affiliated with Inova Behavioral Health Services who understand how screen time affects executive function in teens. Verify they offer family consultations that assess both academic performance and social-emotional metrics related to device usage.

• Educational Technology Consultants: Look for professionals certified by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) who work directly with Fairfax County Public Schools. Effective consultants demonstrate experience designing balanced tech policies—not outright bans—but frameworks where devices serve learning objectives without becoming social crutches, similar to Nagashima’s high-school-only threshold.

• Family Communication Therapists: Prioritize licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFTs) practicing in communities like Falls Church or Arlington who specialize in intergenerational dialogue about technology. The best practitioners facilitate structured conversations where parents and teens co-create household device agreements, focusing on mutual respect rather than punitive measures—a approach aligning with Nagashima’s emphasis on personal agency over external regulation.

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