Japan lowered the age of adulthood from 20 to 18 on April 1 by revising the Civil Code and changing the legal definition of an adult for the first time in over 140 years.
Municipal governments host special coming-of-age ceremonies for 20-year-olds, since an "adult" in Japan is legally defined as one who is 20 or over. In Japan, the legal smoking and drinking age is 20. But along with these rights come new responsibilities as well, and so age 20 is a big turning point for the Japanese.
The Penal Code of Japan provides that an act of a person under 14 years of age is not punishable. Under the Juvenile Law of Japan, however, "juvenile" (shonen) refers to anyone under 20 years of age.
The legal age of adulthood was lowered to 18 last year, but on Monday, many local municipalities across the nation stuck to the tradition of marking Coming-of-Age Day for those turning 20 this year. Some rebranded the event as “Hatachi no Tsudoi,” or a “gathering of 20-year-olds.”
History of Coming of Age Day
The holiday has its roots in ancient Japan when young people were considered to have reached adulthood at the age of 15. In 1948, the age of the majority was raised to 20, and the holiday was moved to its current date to coincide with this change.
In society at that time, 13 was regarded as a reasonable age of consent. In addition, the legal marriageable age was 15 back then. Therefore, the age of 13, which is two years younger than 15, was considered sensible. This explains why the age of consent is 13 in Japan.
It plans to only hold a ceremony for 20-year-olds from fiscal 2024. Japan lowered the age of adulthood from 20 to 18 on April 1 by revising the Civil Code and changing the legal definition of an adult for the first time in over 140 years.
Many cultures have a rite of passage for the "coming" of adulthood. Some are brutal by modern standards. The equivalent in Australian culture was the 21st Birthday.
“Coming of Age Day” ceremony or “Gwan Rye “(관례; 冠禮) is held on the Monday of the third week of May and performed by men and women turning 20 in the same year to signify their debut into adulthood as independent individuals.
In the U.S. the legal age for drinking, smoking, and entering nightclubs is 21. So the 21st birthday is a significant turning point for a young adult as they're now able to partake in more adult activities, legally.
The legal age for consensual sex varies between 16 and 17 years across Australian state and territory jurisdictions (see Table 2). For other sexual activities, the criminal legislation relating to different types of sexual behaviours and interactions varies across Australian jurisdictions.
Under the Japanese Civil Code the minimum legal age of marriage is 18 years for boys and 16 years for girls. A person who is under 20 years of age cannot get married in Japan without parental approval. From 2022, the legal age of marriage for girls and boys will be 18 years.
Several other countries, including Niger and Japan, have designated 13 as the age of consent—although Japan has notoriously inconsistent consent laws that designate different ages of consent, ranging from 13 to 20, depending upon where one is in the country.
In Japan, it's 1.4 years (pdf). That's a pattern seen around the world: Age gaps show up among heterosexual couples in every culture. Some evolutionary explanations have been proposed (older men may have more resources, younger women may be more fertile), but none are easily testable.
The Heian Period (794-1185) is known as the Golden Age of Japan as a result of all of the cultural developments that occurred at this time. Court life during the Heian Period consisted of a never-ending series of obligatory festivals, rituals, and practices.
From April, people age 18 and 19 in Japan will legally be classed as adults and will be given more freedom in making life choices without parental consent — albeit not without criminal responsibilities, due to planned amendments to the Civil Code and Juvenile Law.
Particularly in western societies, modern legal conventions which stipulate points in around the end of adolescence and the beginning of early adulthood (most commonly 18, with the range being 16-21) when adolescents are generally no longer considered minors and are granted the full rights and responsibilities of an ...
It is always one or two years more than your international age. South Koreans consider a year in the womb as counting towards their age, so everyone is one year old at birth. Everyone gets one year added to their Korean age on New Year's Day. South Korea is also the only country that practices this.
As Australia's population ages, the age profile of the older population is also projected to change. By 2066, it is projected: There will be just over 4.5 million people aged 65–74. People aged 75–84 will account for one-third (34%, 3.5 million) of the older population.
Visceral fat is a risk factor for coronary heart disease, the leading underlying cause of death for Australian men. Coronary heart disease, which results from a combination of biological factors and lifestyle habits, is a major reason for the difference in mortality between men and women.
People living in Australia are exposed to higher levels of UV radiation, which is responsible for most age-associated cosmetic skin problems in fair-skinned people.
In an international comparison of recent mortality statistics among G7 countries, Japan had the longest average life expectancy, primarily due to remarkably low mortality rates from ischemic heart disease and cancer (particularly breast and prostate).
Japan adopted the modern system
The traditional system for age called kazoedoshi (数え年, lit. “counted years”), which increased the age of a person on New Year's Day, was changed into the modern one by a law introduced in 1902.
The lowest minimum age is 14 years, set in seven Member States: Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Portugal. The highest is set at 18 years – in Malta.