Smoking, drinking ban to remain despite lowering of age of adulthood

Aug 31, 2017 | News On Japan

Aug 31, 2017 (Japan Times) - Young adults under 20 are expected to remain unable to smoke or drink despite legal changes to lower the age of adulthood to 18, National Police Agency officials said Wednesday.

Even if the Civil Code is amended, the agency is considering retaining the drinking and tobacco ban stipulated under existing legislation, it said.

A bill to lower the nation's legal age of adulthood is likely to be submitted to the Diet's extraordinary session this fall.

The planned amendment would change the definition of adulthood for the first time since the code was drawn up in the late 19th century during the Meiji Era (1868-1912). For a majority of countries in Europe and the United States, the legal age of adulthood is 18.

But lawmakers continue to be wary of allowing those under 20 to drink and smoke due to the potential health risks.

Two laws under the agency's jurisdiction - one prohibiting drinking for minors and another banning smoking for minors - ban 18- and 19-year-olds from engaging in these acts.

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