Age Requirement for Naturalization to Drop from 20 to 18 on April 1, 2022
 |
| Not just for 20-year olds anymore |
Until a few decades ago, the age of majority for being able to do anything in Japan, was twenty years of age. That was when you were considered to be an adult.
Over recent years, however, the age to be able to do things such as vote, drive, view mature movies, etc., has been changing from 20 to 18.
This first started in 2015, when they lowered the voting age from 20 to 18.
Then in 2018, the Japanese Government approved a bill that would lower the age of adulthood from 20 to 18 by 2022. This will enable 18- and 19-year-olds to sign contracts and get married without the consent of their parents.
However, just like many countries don't allow 18 year old adults to drink or smoke until they're older (21 in America), Japan will still require you to be 20 to purchase or consume alcohol and tobacco.
The Japanese law lowering the age of majority that will come into effect next year in April will allow eighteen year old non-Japanese to naturalize.
Previously, the only way for a minor (19 or under) to naturalize to Japanese was if an entire immediate family naturalized together; if parents were to become Japanese, then obviously you would want your dependents to be Japanese nationals as well, as one would not want to be in a situation where the parents had the right to be in Japan but the children could possibly lose that permission.
There is one case where an eighteen year old will not be allowed to naturalize: the person has to recognized as an adult not just in Japan, but in the current country or countries of citizenship. So if a person is a citizen of a country where you're not considered to be a legal adult until you're 21, then you must be 21 in order to change your citizenship to Japanese.
 |
| The young adults at Coming of Age Day (成人の日) will be two years younger starting in 2023. |
