From 20 to 18: What Changes with the Amendment of the Japanese Civil Code?

The law to amend a part of the Japanese Civil Code (民法), which was established in June 2018 (Heisei 30) and includes provisions to lower the age of adulthood to 18, will come into effect from April 1, 2022 (Reiwa 4).

With this amendment to the Japanese Civil Code, individuals who are between 18 and 20 years old as of April 1, 2022 (those born between April 2, 2002, and April 1, 2004), will reach adulthood on that day. Furthermore, those born on or after April 2, 2004, will reach adulthood on their 18th birthday.

We will explain what changes and what does not change due to the lowering of the age of adulthood in the Japanese Civil Code.

What is the Age of Majority?

The age of majority in the Japanese Civil Code refers to:

1. The age at which one can enter into valid contracts independently
2. The age at which one is no longer subject to parental authority

These are the two meanings.

With the lowering of the age of majority, people who are 18 or 19 years old will be able to enter into various contracts without the consent of their parents. For example, they can purchase a mobile phone, rent an apartment for living alone, create a credit card (although there may be cases where they cannot create a credit card due to the result of a creditworthiness examination), or take out a loan to purchase goods (although there may be cases where they cannot contract if it is recognized as a loan contract exceeding their repayment ability).

However, contracts entered into by 18 or 19-year-olds without parental consent before April 1, 2022 (Gregorian calendar year), can still be cancelled after the law comes into effect.

Also, as they are no longer subject to parental authority, they can decide where to live and make decisions about their educational or career paths based on their own will.

Furthermore, the minimum age for women to marry (the age at which they can get married) will also be revised. Currently, the minimum age for marriage is 18 for men and 16 for women, but the minimum age for women to marry will be raised to 18, meaning that both men and women cannot get married until they are 18.

Amendment to the Japanese Civil Code

In Japan, the age of adulthood has been set at 20 since the 9th year of the Meiji era (1876). However, policies have been advanced to allow 18 and 19-year-olds to participate in important national decisions, such as setting the voting age for public office elections and constitutional amendment referendums at 18. In light of these developments, it was deemed appropriate to treat individuals aged 18 and over as adults under the Civil Code, which is the basic law concerning civic life.

Globally, the mainstream age of adulthood is 18. Among the 38 advanced countries participating in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), including European countries, the United States, and Japan, the only countries that did not set the age of adulthood at 18 were South Korea at 19, and Japan and New Zealand at 20.

Lowering the age of adulthood to 18 is considered to respect the self-determination rights of 18 and 19-year-olds and to encourage their active participation in society.

Changes in Age Requirements

It’s important to note that not all age requirements will be changed. For instance, while the eligibility age for obtaining a 10-year passport will be lowered to 18, the age restrictions for alcohol and tobacco will remain at 20.

The changes in age requirements in various laws due to the lowering of the age of adulthood can be classified into four categories:

1. Those that need to be revised because they will change to 18 (specified as “20 years old”, etc.)
2. Those that will change to 18 but do not need to be revised (specified as “minors”, etc.)
3. Those that need to be revised because they will remain at 20 (specified as “minors”, etc.)
4. Those that will remain at 20 but do not need to be revised (specified as “20 years old”, etc.)

Examples of the first category, “those that need to be revised because they will change to 18,” include obtaining a 10-year general passport (Japanese Passport Law), naturalization requirements (Japanese Nationality Law), adjudication of gender change (Japanese Act on Special Cases in Handling Gender for People with Gender Identity Disorder), and social welfare officer qualifications (Japanese Social Welfare Act).

For instance, in the Japanese Nationality Law (naturalization requirements),

Article 5: The Minister of Justice may not permit the naturalization of a foreigner unless he/she meets the following conditions:

2. He/She is 20 years old or older and has the capacity to act according to the laws of his/her home country.

Since it is specified as “20 years old or older,” a revision is necessary.

Examples of the second category, “those that will change to 18 but do not need to be revised,” include medical license (Japanese Medical Practitioners Act), dental license (Japanese Dental Practitioners Act), pharmacist license (Japanese Pharmacists Act), judicial scrivener qualifications (Japanese Judicial Scriveners Act), administrative scrivener qualifications (Japanese Administrative Scriveners Act), certified public accountant qualifications (Japanese Certified Public Accountants Act), and separate registration (Japanese Family Register Act).

For instance, for a medical license,

Japanese Medical Practitioners Act

Article 2: Anyone who wishes to become a doctor must pass the national medical examination and receive a license from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Article 3: Licenses shall not be granted to minors.

Since it is specified as “minors,” no revision is necessary.

Examples of the third category, “those that need to be revised because they will remain at 20,” include smoking age (Japanese Minor Smoking Prohibition Act) and drinking age (Japanese Minor Drinking Prohibition Act). For instance, the smoking age is,

Japanese Minor Smoking Prohibition Act

Article 1: Persons under the age of 20 shall not be allowed to smoke.

Since the age of 20 will be maintained, a revision of the law’s name is necessary.

Also, the purchase age for horse racing betting tickets (Japanese Horse Racing Act), the purchase age for bicycle racing betting tickets (Japanese Bicycle Racing Act), the definition of alcohol health disorders (Japanese Basic Act on Measures against Alcohol-Related Health Harm), and the age of those who can adopt (Japanese Civil Code) will also remain at 20, so revisions are necessary.

For instance, the purchase age for horse racing betting tickets is,

Japanese Horse Racing Act (Restrictions on the Purchase of Winning Horse Tickets)

Article 28: Minors shall not purchase or receive winning horse tickets.

Since the age of 20 will be maintained, a revision is necessary.

Examples of the fourth category, “those that will remain at 20 but do not need to be revised,” include the eligibility for National Pension Insurance (Japanese National Pension Act), large and medium-sized licenses (Japanese Road Traffic Act), the age of those eligible for Special Child Rearing Allowance (Japanese Act on the Payment of Special Child Rearing Allowance), and the age of those eligible for Child Self-Reliance Support Services (Japanese Child Welfare Act).

For instance, the eligibility for National Pension Insurance is,

Japanese National Pension Act (Qualifications of Insured Persons)

Article 7: The following persons shall be insured under the National Pension:

1. Persons aged 20 to 59 who have a domicile in Japan (omitted below)

Since the age of 20 will be maintained, no revision is necessary.

Impacts and Measures Due to the Lowering of the Age of Majority

What kind of impact will the lowering of the age of majority have on businesses and services? For BtoC companies that provide products and services to a wide range of targets, including minors, it will be necessary to review and modify applications, contracts, terms of service, and information systems.

If the current terms and conditions define minors as those under 20 years old, it may be necessary to change the content in accordance with the revision of the Civil Code. For example, many terms of use for mobile phone companies and credit card companies include clauses to the effect that “if a person under 20 years old is registered at the time of the contract, it is assumed that the consent of the legal representative has been obtained.” These will need to be changed.

While checking and modifying such content and conducting legal checks can be a great deal of work, changing the notation to “minor” will ensure that the effect does not change before and after the revision of the Civil Code.

Many services restrict or prohibit use based on age or for minors. The fact that people who were minors as of March 31, 2022, will become adults from April 1 means that system changes need to be made at this timing. In particular, people born between April 2, 2002, and April 1, 2004, will all become adults at the same time, regardless of their age, so the system will need to be modified to switch registration eligibility status at this timing. Let’s prepare for the lowering of the age of majority.

Summary

As a general rule, if a minor enters into a contract without parental consent, they can cancel the contract (Japanese Minor’s Right of Rescission). However, with the lowering of the age of majority, 18 and 19-year-olds will be able to enter into contracts on their own without parental consent. On the other hand, they will no longer be able to exercise the Minor’s Right of Rescission, raising concerns about an increase in consumer damage due to fraudulent business practices.

The lowering of the age of majority respects the autonomy of 18 and 19-year-olds, but various issues have also been pointed out. It can be said that companies need to respond carefully.

Introduction to Our Firm’s Measures

Monolith Law Office is a legal office with high expertise in both IT, particularly the Internet, and law. With the lowering of the age of majority, legal checks on terms and conditions, among other things, have become necessary. Our firm handles the creation and review of contracts and terms for a variety of cases, from companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market to venture businesses. If you have any concerns about contracts, please refer to the article below.