Lowering the legal age
(From The Japan Times Aug. 3 issue)

成人年齢引き下げ、活発な論議を

panel of the Justice Ministry's Legislative Council has proposed lowering the legal age under the Civil Code from 20 to 18. The council is expected to hand the proposal to the justice minister in September. A Civil Code revision will entail revision of some 300 laws. The panel's report says that the Diet should judge when the law revisions should be made.

Lowering the legal age will have a great impact — social, economic and political. Thorough discussions will be necessary so that no ambiguity is left in the details of related laws and regulations, and problems that may arise.

The panel's discussion was spurred by a provision in the 2007 law governing the procedure for a national referendum on a constitutional revision, which in principle sets the voting age at 18. The law calls for discussion on whether to lower the legal age by the time it goes into effect in 2010.

The panel says lowering the legal age has three specific merits: 18- and 19-year-olds become socially and economically independent with the self-awareness of adults, and a strong desire to participate in the political process. But it's not an easy thing for a person to become mature. If the legal age is lowered, 18- and 19-year-olds may sign contracts with business entities that use fraudulent methods. They would also be able to engage in legal gambling like horse and bicycle races.

The panel's proposal comes at a time when the concept of protection of the young is waning. A 2000 revision of the Juvenile Law lowered the minimum age at which criminal punishment can be applied, from 16 to 14. If 18- and 19-year-olds are removed from the protection of the Juvenile Law, the impact will be great.

Lowering the legal age could expose 18- to-19-year-olds, including those unemployed or underemployed, to harsh social and economic realities with less legal protection than they are given now. The council should present concrete measures that work to prevent problems of this sort from developing. Sufficient public discussion of the issue must not be skipped over.

法相の諮問機関・法制審議会は、民法上の成人年齢を20歳から歳に引き下げるのが適当との報告書をまとめた。

9月に総会で承認後、法相に答申する。これにより300以上の法令が見直し対象となる。法改正の時期は国会に委ねられている。

引き下げの意義は、18歳以上に大人の自覚、社会的･経済的自立、政治への参加を促すことだ。しかし悪徳商法の被害や競馬や競輪など公共ギャンブルへの参加による問題が懸念される。

2000年に刑事罰適用が14歳以上となり、少年法の保護主義の理念が弱まるなか、同法から20歳未満の年長少年を外すことの影響は多大だ。

失業中やパートの若者を法的保護が薄いまま厳しい社会にさらすといった問題に、審議会は対策を打ち、国民も論議を尽くすべきだ。