Japan Govt Sensational Move:20-18 & 16-18

Japan, June 13: Japan's upper house of parliament on Wednesday enacted a law to revise the current Civil Code and lower the legal age of adulthood from 20 to 18.

The move comes as the Japanese government continues to grapple with the nation's demographic crisis as the population here continues to rapidly age and simultaneously shrink.

The bill cleared the Upper House on Wednesday, with support from the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, Nippon Ishin Japan Innovation Party, and others.

The new legislation will also lift the legal age for marriage for women from 16 to 18, equal to that of men.

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