70% oppose lowering Japan's age of majority to 18: gov't poll+

TOKYO, Sept. 13 Kyodo - Nearly 70 percent of people polled said they are against the idea of lowering the age of majority to 18 from the current 20, according to a government survey
released Saturday, mirroring the public's reluctance to treat 18-year-olds and
19-year-olds as adults.
The survey showed 69.4 percent opposing the idea and 26.7 percent backing it as
a government panel is deliberating whether the state should lower the age of
adulthood to 18, as set under the Civil Code, ahead of the implementation in
2010 of a law allowing citizens aged 18 or older to cast votes in referendums
on the Constitution.
The panel plans to draw a conclusion by the end of the year.
Asked why they oppose the idea of lowering the age level, 58.5 percent of
respondents said in multiple answers that 18-year-olds and 19-year-olds are
still economically dependent on their parents, according to the survey.
Fifty-seven percent said they do not believe young people under 20 have
sufficient ability to make appropriate judgments, while 55.3 percent said they
do not believe young people can take responsibility for themselves.
The Cabinet Office polled 5,000 people aged 18 and older across Japan in July,
of whom 61.2 percent responded.
Experts and policymakers say changing the age of majority will require serious
consideration because it may also spark calls for reviewing the age at which
people can legally drink and smoke, which is currently 20.
According to the survey, 78.8 percent said they are not in favor of lowering
from 20 to 18 the age at which a person can take out loans or rent apartments
without parental consent. Only 19 percent support such an idea.