Japan's lower house of parliament approves bills to decrease adulthood age

TOKYO - Japan's lower house of parliament on Tuesday approved bills to lower the legal age of adulthood from 20 to 18, as the government grapples to contend with its rapidly aging and declining population and the need for more youngsters to be socially active.

One of the major changes that would be brought about if the changes to the Civil Code and laws are enacted and actualized in April 2022, as the government plans, would be that those aged 18 and 19 years old would legally be able to marry without parental consent.

Currently, males aged 18 years old and over and females aged 16 years and older can marry in Japan, but parental consent is required by law for all persons marrying under the age of 20.

Under the new adulthood changes, the legal age for women marrying will also be raised to 18.

More than 20 related laws would be changed with the lowering of the adulthood age, but the current laws pertaining to the prohibition of drinking alcohol, smoking and gambling by people aged under 20 years old, will be kept in place.