Moves are afoot to lower the maximum age of minors covered by the Juvenile Law to 17 from 19 — in line with the amendment to the Public Offices Election Law that lowered the minimum voting age to 18 and a revision to the Civil Code set to be submitted to the Diet this year to lower the legal age of adulthood to 18. There are reports that the Justice Ministry will ask the Legislative Council, an advisory body to the justice minister, to launch formal discussions on the matter as early as next month. A hasty conclusion should be avoided, however, given that not only did a Justice Ministry report last month show mixed opinions among experts on the question, but views are split between the partners in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition.

The amendment to the election law, enacted in 2015, called for discussions on whether the age threshold under the Civil Code and the Juvenile Law should also be lowered. Abe's Liberal Democratic Party has already proposed lowering the maximum age of minors subject to protection under the Juvenile Law to 17. The Justice Ministry has meanwhile set up an in-house group to study the matter, holding hearings with roughly 40 people, including scholars, those involved in juvenile welfare, and crime victims and their families.

The report released by the Justice Ministry group last month cited both pros and cons in revising the Juvenile Law, while also mentioning possible measures that could be taken to deal with anticipated problems should the revision take place.