Gov't eyes submitting bill to Diet to lower legal age of adulthood to 18

Does that mean drinking and smoking at the age of 20 or just the ability to tax these new "adults"?

lawmakers remain cautious about accompanying the amendment of the civil code with changes to other laws to allow 18- and 19-year-olds to drink, smoke and bet on public-run forms of gambling.

Don't change anything! Japanese 18-20 year olds are very immature for their age. They are like 13 year olds in other countries. Can you imagine the izakayas and British pubs full of 18 year olds (13 year year olds) screaming and spewing up everywhere? Change the school system to produce mature and independent 18-20 year olds first. Don't just throw the lambs into the slaughter!

Seems perfectly sensible to me! A lot of countries acknowledge 18 as being the age you reach adulthood. Although id be prepared for the inevitable arguments that will come their way about how if at 18 your legally an adult why cant they drink or smoke?

so why change the legal age if there is no accompanying change to what they can do, besides sign a contract?

Goods, badly needed. Knew it was coming when they lowered the age for voting to 18.

Back home it has always been 18 granted voting right is 19 though. But if you can serve, etc (we got conscription).

There must be a hidden agenda buried in this LDP proposal: tax money? pension contributions? electoral gains? filling vacant prison cells? military service? As Disillusioned's post pointedly put it, the education system here infantilizes Japanese youth, so there might be a worrying disconnect if Japanese schools continue to stifle the intellectual and emotional development of their charges and suppress the natural expression of individuality.

New Justice Minister is 64 years of age, born march 1953, served as Minister of State for Gender Equality and Social Affairs.

So why is Yoko Kamikawa struggling to lower legal age of adulthood to 18? It is nonsensical since the voting age has been lowered to 18 in national elections? These cabinet minsters are living in a bubble. Sooner or later it will burst with a vengeance.

25 seems like a more sensible number to me.

There are some important ramifications with this. Generally speaking knowing that you can't be adult until 20 doesn't exactly motivate maturity in most late teens. More particularly, those poor kids treated as property by a parent, can get free of the abducting parent's controls.

Is this just an amendment to gain political support by charming the japanese youth?

My Son is 17:and having this passed means he will become an adult in line with his other citizenship, granted earlier than he is expecting it to happen here.

Will be a shock for many but I see no reason for anyone in Uni not to be an adult.

I think it's a good idea for the criminal justice system. A lot fewer people get away with murder and other serious crimes hiding under the "I'm still a child" banner

Long overdue

@nakanoguy01T

Because you can try some of them as an adult in court rather than just slap on the wrist. After all, some crimes they commit should be try as adult even if they are minor.

I used to be on the same train, ‘Why so late to become an adult in Japan?’, yet research shows adulthood may well be a thing that we reach in our late twenties. So, raise it, don’t lower it!

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2006/02/06.html

No, not tax increase. Babies increase.

Better build more orphanages to house unwanted children born that neither the parents, grandparents and even the government can't support.

The ONLY reason this is being considered is to increase tax revenues, nothing more, nothing less.

Abe and his cabinet have NOT taken the time to consider the problems that will happen if this becomes law!

First lower the age a politician can serve us...then lower the age for partaking in such gems as smoking, drinking and gambling .