An "adult" in Japan is legally defined as one who is 20 or over. They gain the right to vote on their twentieth birthday, and they're also allowed to smoke and drink. Municipal governments host special coming-of-age ceremonies for 20-year-olds on the second Monday of January. So my son attended this ceremony today at the gym of the elementary school he graduated from. It was almost like a alumni meeting for the first time since they graduated from the school seven years ago. It was nothing but the great moment of excitement to get into the gym where many old friends got together and to put their old memories together then and there to tell who is who. They surely don’t look the same as they were seven years ago. They are adults. Like my son, for those who didn’t have any chance to see each other often since the graduation, it is such a nice re-union. This year 1.5 million fellows turned to 20-year-old and had this celebration all over the country. They’ve now stepped forward to the new stage of their life with new rights and responsibilities as well.
1 comment:
In the US, we can buy cigarettes at age 18. However, many kids get them from other means.
Many cities (New York City for example) ban smoking in restaurants and bars- which is good for me because I am alergic to the smoke!)
We are allowed to vote at 18.
We are alowed to drink/buy alcohol at 21.
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