【ニュースde英語】日本が成人年齢を20歳から18歳に!を報じるイギリス紙｜「indulge」の意味は？｜The Guardian

The age change means 18-year-olds will be able to marry and apply for loans, but will still have to wait until 20 to drink or gamble

A woman leaves a coming of age ceremony, which are currently held when people reach the age of 20

Japan has lowered the age of adulthood from 20 to 18, but young people who reach the milestone when the change goes into effect in 2022 won’t be able to celebrate with a few glasses of sake. At least not legally.

The revision to the civil code, the first of its kind for more than 140 years, will allow all 18-year-olds to marry without their parents’ consent. Currently, men aged 18 and women aged 16 can marry, but only with the permission of both sets of parents.

They will also be able to apply for credit cards and loans, and obtain a passport valid for 10 years. Transgender men and women over 18 will be able to apply to courts to have their gender officially recognised.

But the newly recognised adults will indulge in some rites of passage at their own risk: they will still have to wait until they are 20 to drink, smoke and bet on Japan’s four legalised forms of gambling: horse, bicycle, motorcycle and motorboat races.

The change has created confusion over the annual Coming of age day, when men and women who have turned 20 during the previous 12 months put on their finest kimono, attend ceremonies and celebrate with their first legal. Local media reported on concerns over the effect the new law could have on Japan’s already ailing kimono industry if ceremonies are held for those who have turned 18 rather than 20.

The coming of age celebration, held on the second Monday of January, falls around the time that many 18-year-olds are cramming for university entrance exams.