LOWERED ADULT AGE SEES RISE IN YOUNG JAPANESE STRUGGLING WITH DEBT - TAKAMATSU JAPAN

LOWERED ADULT AGE SEES RISE IN YOUNG JAPANESE STRUGGLING WITH DEBT - TAKAMATSU JAPAN

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TAKAMATSU

One feared consequence of Japan's lowering of the age of adulthood to 18 in 2022 appears to have come true -- a rise in young people getting into difficulties with debt.

With personal bankruptcy occurring as early as 19, government agencies are doubling efforts to raise public awareness about the issue. Consumer affairs experts, meanwhile, warn that cases thus far are likely to be only the tip of the iceberg.

The lowering of the age of adulthood from 20 allowed 18- and 19-year-olds to sign consumer loan contracts and apply for credit cards without parental consent.

According to the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, the number of consultations about multiple debts was the highest in the past 10 years in fiscal 2023 for both teens and those in their 20s.

The rise among teens was particularly striking, nearly doubling to 175 cases through March this year from 90 cases in fiscal 2021 before the change in the definition of an adult.

When a 20-year-old man living in a support facility in the Chugoku-Shikoku region for youth unable to live at home was asked why he had obtained a credit card, he told a facility staff member that he had simply wondered whether he could do so and was issued one over the internet.

He got the card in the spring of 2022, right after turning 18. Despite not holding down a steady job, he went out socializing more often and also signed up for seven new smartphones that he intended to resell.

After racking up debts of about 1.5 million yen, he sought help from the Tokyo-based Japan Legal Support Center and completed bankruptcy proceedings at the age of 19.

"We will no doubt witness more instances of the personal bankruptcies of our residents," an official of the housing facility said.

The official said the majority of residents at the facility have not developed good spending habits or attitudes to financial planning due to troubled family circumstances such as abuse and poverty as well as developmental issues.

The man who filed for bankruptcy was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as a child and abused by his mother, the official said.

Knowledge is crucial to circumnavigate consumer trouble, experts stress.

To coincide with the lowering of the age of adulthood, juvenile reformatories across the country have introduced programs designed to help residents 18 and older to become financially independent. Legal education on contracts and the problems that might occur because of them are provided.

Kunitaka Matsumoto, a JSLC lawyer in Kagawa Prefecture in western Japan, said, "We are considering legal consultations and lectures specifically for the younger generation" about signing contracts on their own.

Consumer affairs lawyers note that debt problems can be resolved if people seek advice as early as possible.

Takashi Kobayashi, vice chair of the consumer affairs committee at the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, said that the number of young people declaring bankruptcies will only rise further.

In the worst-case scenario, some young people may try to take their own lives, he said, urging them to "rely on public organizations such as bar associations, the JSLC and consumer affairs centers before debts become too large."

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