Japan: Gov’t considers setting minimum marriage age at 18 for both genders

The government is considering setting the minimum marriage age at 18 for both genders, scrapping a provision introduced shortly after World War II that allows 16-year-old girls to get married, a government source said Thursday. The government is considering including a provision for the unified minimum marriage age in a bill to revise the Civil Code that would also see the age of adulthood lowered to 18 from 20, the source said. Under the current Civil Code, parental consent is required for any marriages in which the parties are under 20. Illustrative image When the original civil law was enacted in the late 19th century, the minimum marriage age was set at 17 for males and 15 for females. Such rules were introduced on the grounds that girls develop quicker than boys, but legal experts have argued there are no rational reasons to set different minimum marriage ages according to...