Children in Japan will be considered adults when they are 18 as opposed to 20, under a new proposal that is supported by the government.

 

根据日本政府出台的一项新提案，日本法定成年年龄将由之前的20岁下调至18岁。

 

If the change is approved, 18-year-olds will be able to get married, sign contracts and take out loans without the consent of their parents.

 

But teenagers will still be banned from smoking, drinking alcohol and gambling¹ until they are 20. If parliament votes in favour of the bill it will take effect in 2022.

 

It would be the first change to the law that defines adulthood² since it was set in 1876.

 

Under the existing law, people under 20 can only get married with the consent of their parents. Men can do so at 18 and women at 16.

 

But this amendment³ will raise the age that women can get married so that all 18-year-olds will be able to do so without parental⁴ consent.

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