One in 5 teens gets 50 emails on mobiles daily

Cellphones are taking center stage in the lives of Japanese teenagers, who often send or receive dozens of emails a day while eating, attending school or even taking a bath, according to a survey.

Around 46 percent of middle school students aged 13 to 14 and 96 percent of high school students aged 16 to 17 carry a mobile telephone, the research shows. One in four school children aged 11 to 12 also has one.

They use their phones to email friends, read books, listen to music and surf the Internet, as well as for chatting.