Japan Press Weekly

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2012 March 21 - 27 [POLITICS]

JCP Kasai proposes universal suffrage at age 18

Japanese Communist Party representative Kasai Akira on March 22 proposed that the legal voting age as well as the age to be recognized as an adult be lowered from the present 20 to 18 years old at a meeting of the Lower House Commission on the Constitution.

Kasai pointed out, “Most of the world’s 173 countries and all of the G8 members, except Japan, grant citizens aged 18 and older the right to vote.”

It has been 116 years since the Civil Code designated persons aged 20 and older as adults.

Compared to 116 years ago, “young people have physically, mentally, and intellectually grown up faster, people’s academic levels have dramatically increased, and more people now go on to higher education,” Kasai said.

He again proposed setting 18 years old as the eligible age to vote and for 18-year-olds to be regarded as adults.