The Japanese government is moving ahead with a plan to lower the official age at which a person is considered an adult from 20 to 18. Since its emergence as a modern nation, Japan has defined an adult to be age 20, and that’s when a person can legally buy tobacco or alcohol and vote in elections. There’s even a major day to celebrate young people’s emergence as adults, Coming of Age Day in January, when all new 20-year-olds in each town will put on brand new kimono and suits and celebrate their new status as full-fledged members of society. By lowering the age a person can vote in elections to 18, the government is hoping to increase interest in politics and social issues, although it’s likely that some political groups will benefit from the change more than others. The majority of supporters of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled the country for most of the past half-century, are older and located in rural parts of Japan, whereas younger, idealistic Japanese in cities usually support other parties.
Will we need to make a new version of our famous T-shirt?
