Current Events > Japan to change age of adulthood for first time since Meiji Era (late 1800s)

(+) Yeah! (+)

On April 1, Japan will change its legal definition of an adult from those who are at least 20 years old to those who are 18 years old and older.

The change will upend over 140 years of civil code dating back to the Imperial Meiji period of the late 1800s.

The new code will give those who are 18 and over the rights and responsibilities that come with being a legal adult. They will no longer need parental consent to enter into contracts, such as signing up for credit cards, loans and apartment leases, and will also have the freedom to make life decisions regarding their studies, work, place of living and marriage.

Stricter punishments will also be applied to 18- and 19-year-olds for criminal offenses, as they will no longer be considered minors. News and media outlets will also be able to report their names publicly for offenses. Currently, homicide is the only charge that minors can be criminally prosecuted for.

Laws involving identification cards, passports and jury duty will also be affected by the change, but the rules for alcohol, tobacco and gambling will continue to prohibit participation until age 20, to promote healthy living.

The motive behind the change in civil code involves the notion that people should participate in society sooner, against the backdrop of Japans low birth rates. The voting age was decreased to 18 in 2016, and the civil code revision seeks to further engagement among 18- and 19-year-olds.

The change also comes amid discussions of whether the Japanese Juvenile Law is too lenient. In 2021, the Juvenile Code was amended to categorize 18- and 19-year-olds as specified juveniles who were given harsher punishments for breaking the law than those under 18. The change to the legal age will reinforce and increase these penalties.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/news.yahoo.com/amphtml/japan-change-age-adulthood-first-233238788.html

I think its great that Japan is relatively lenient on minors, especially given that its legal system is kind of garbage otherwise.

bump

April fools?

I used to buy alcohol at 18 years old in japan (okinawa prefecture). For some reason the family mart/lawsons over there didnt id me and my friends. At least now its legal.

Also there was a fried chicken restaurant (near the sega arcade in american village) that used to let middle schoolers order alcohol. Like wtf. I wonder if it is still around

one more

Tales of the Abyss is now outdated

g0ldie posted...

Currently, homicide is the only charge that minors can be criminally prosecuted for.

What.

ElatedVenusaur posted...

I think its great that Japan is relatively lenient on minors, especially given that its legal system is kind of garbage otherwise.

lenient? 18 year olds will be treated like adults now, including crime.

age of consent is still like 14 or something

I thought they changed it in like 2020.

It was only in the last couple years that Japan changed their electoral system to allow 18 and 19 year olds to vote

Kaiganeer posted...

age of consent is still like 14 or something

Not quite. AoC rules in Japan are labyrinthine, but can best be surmised as
14-17 + 14-17 = okay
14-17 + 17- 19 = okay if the older person is a girl.
14-19 + 20+ = always wrong (but criminal sentencing is usually less severe for older girls)

Keep in mind this isn't all encompassing, and there are a lot of Grey areas that vary by district, so while this might not sound that bad its quite open to exploitation. Also I haven't looked this up recently so things might have changed or my numbers might be off. I'm also not sure if they do like America where consent laws are waived for married couples (child predators in America will often find a way to wedtheir targets to legalize what they do)

Anways, the problem of Japan's declining birth rate is an easily solved one. But they aren't willing to reduce work hours to a standard maximum of 40 hours per week like we used to have in America. Without free time Japan won't be having kids. Getting more teens into the workforce isn't going to change that (in fact this will probably hurt it), but the LDP is hilariously inept for a party that's maintained power for nearly 60 years (give or take a couple of gaps)

More and more of the world is becoming like Japan is too. As it turns out squeezing every last yen out of your employees, to the point that they drop dead from overwork in one of the most peaceful nations on the planet, is just not sustainable on any level. It's like when Abe began pushing for woman to join the workforce to save the economy. They did, the economy didn't budge because it's got no more to give, and now the birthrate is even lower and the women are being blamed for Japan's failed economy and birth rate.

Whew. I was worried that they were going to say 14 is adulthood.

I woulda thought the age would be set lower then, what with lower life expectancy and whatnot