「龙腾网」街访：日本成年年龄降至18岁 日本民众的看法

正文翻译

Recently, Japan lowered the age of adulthood from 20 to 18 by reversing the Civil Code and changing the legal definition of an adult for the first time in over 140 years. So why did Japan change the adulthood age, and how do ordinary Japanese citizens feel about this new change? Let’s hit the streets of Tokyo to find out.

近日，日本通过修改民法典将成年年龄从20岁下调到18岁，这是日本140年来首次更改对“成人”的法律定义。所以为什么日本要更改成年年龄，日本民众是如何看待这一改变的呢？让我们来到东京街头找找答案。

评论翻译

Q: Have you heard the recent news that Japan is lowering its adulthood age from 20 to 18?

问：你知道最近日本要将成年年龄从20岁下调到18岁这一新闻吗？

A: Yes. It’s been a hot topic for quite some time, I’ve seen a lot of news about it.

答：听过，这件事儿成为热点话题已有一定时间了，我看过很多关于这个话题的新闻报道。

Q: What was your immediate reaction to this?

问：你对这个事儿的当下反应是什么？

A: The period between the ages of 20 and 18 maybe only 2 years. But for young people, those 2 years are very long. If we’re too quick to say, “you’re 18 so you’re an adult now.” I think there will be a lot of trouble in the future.

答：虽然20岁和18岁之间就差了仅仅2年时间，但是对于年轻人来讲，2年时间也很长。如果我们现在着急说，“你已经18岁了，是个成年人了。”我认为在未来会带来很多麻烦的。

A: I thought it would happen eventually, so I guess it’s only natural. I think that 18-year-olds are already adults, and I think they deserve to be treated in the same way as adults.

答：我认为调低成年年龄是大势所趋，所以我认为这一举措是顺势而生的。在我看来，18岁已经算是成年人了，他们理应以像其他大人相同的方式被对待。

原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

Q: For those who might not be familiar, what does this mean? What can 18-year-olds do now that they couldn’t before?

问：对不熟悉日本的人来说，这意味着什么呢？调低年龄后，18岁的年轻人能做什么之前不能做的事情吗？

A: More decisions can be made by themselves without parental consent. For example, they’d be able to get their own credit card. Also, they will be able to get married without parental consent.

答：很多时候，他们能自己做决定了，而不需要得到父母的同意。例如，他们能办自己的信用卡。此外，结婚也不需要父母的许可。

Q: Are there any limitations that will stay the same?

问：有哪些限制还会存在呢？

A: They still ban smoking and drinking alcohol for people under the age of 20, for health reasons.

答：为了健康，20岁以下的人禁烟禁酒。

原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

Q: Why do you think the government decided to lower the adulthood age to 18?

问：你认为政府为什么将成年年龄下调至18岁呢？

A: Maybe to lower the average age of marriage…Perhaps the goal is to get people married as early as possible, considering Japan’s declining birth rate and aging population.

答：可能是要因此降低平均结婚年龄……也许目的是让人们尽可能地早结婚，咱们想想日本不断下降的出生率和不断增加的老龄人口。

原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

A: Even if you take a look at some the countries abroad, ther are countries that socially recognize 16 and 18-year-olds as adults, rather than waiting until they turn 20 or 21 years old.

问：如果你看看其他国家，有的国家将18岁，甚至16岁当作成年年龄，而不是非得等到20或21岁。

A: Maybe it’s because the percentage of the elderly in Japan has grown too large, while the percentage of young people is declining, so they end up only listening to the opinions of a bunch of old people. Old people are so self-centered that they only focus on their own rights, but perhaps they realized the need to listen to the younger generation as well, so they decided to make this change.

答：这可能是因为日本老年人口增长地太多了，而年轻人口的比例却在下降，政府只能听一群老年人的意见。老年人是如此以自我为中心，他们只在乎自己的权利。所以可能政府意识到了需要听取年轻一代的意见，他们才决定调低成年年龄。

Q: Are there any differences between Japanese youth and youth overseas?

问：日本年轻人和其他国家的年轻人有什么不同么？