Children in Japan will be considered adults when they are 18 as opposed to 20, under a new proposal that is supported by the government.
根据日本政府出台的一项新提案，日本法定成年年龄将由之前的20岁下调至18岁。
If the change is approved, 18-year-olds will be able to get married, sign contracts and take out loans without the consent of their parents.
如果提案通过，18岁的日本人将无需得到父母同意就能结婚、签合同和贷款。
But teenagers will still be banned from smoking, drinking alcohol and gambling until they are 20. If parliament votes in favour of the bill it will take effect in 2022.
但是日本青少年在20岁前仍将被禁止吸烟、喝酒和赌博。如果日本国会投票通过这一提案，该法令将于2022年生效。
It would be the first change to the law that defines adulthood since it was set in 1876.
这将是日本自1876年立法以来，首次调整成年年龄。
Under the existing law, people under 20 can only get married with the consent of their parents. Men can do so at 18 and women at 16.
按照现行法律，20岁以下的日本人只有得到父母同意才能结婚。日本男性的法定结婚年龄是18岁，女性是16岁。
But this amendment will raise the age that women can get married so that all 18-year-olds will be able to do so without parental consent.
但这一修正案将提高女性的法定结婚年龄，这样所有年满18岁的人都无需得到父母同意就能结婚。
The government decided to make the age of marriage the same for both sexes because there was no justifiable reason for the difference, according to Japan's Kyodo news service.
日本共同社报道说，日本政府决定统一男女法定结婚年龄，因为这一男女差异的存在并没有正当理由。
Separately, the bill will allow 18 and 19-year-olds to sign contracts for mobile phones and credit cards.
此外，该法案还将分别允许18岁和19岁的人自主签订手机和信用卡合同。
This has led to fears that some businesses may use sales tactics that target and exploit vulnerable young people.
新提案让人们担心一些企业会用营销策略来忽悠容易上当的年轻人。
The bill includes clauses that are designed to protect against this problem. For example, young people will be able to cancel a contract if they believe salespeople have manipulated or pressured them into signing it.
针对这一问题，法案当中的一些条款做出了保护性规定。例如，如果年轻人认为自己是被销售人员操控或施压才签订了合同，他们可以取消合同。
The Education and Justice Ministries have also said they will educate teenagers about the responsibilities that would come with the change.
日本教育和司法部还表示，他们会就伴随成年而来的责任对青少年进行教育。
最后来看看一些主要国家的法定结婚年龄：
1. 中国：大陆地区男子22岁，女子20岁；香港和澳门是16岁；台湾是20岁，父母同意下男18岁，女16岁。
2. 美国：各州自行规定。多数州规定法定结婚年龄男子为21岁，女子为18岁。爱达荷、密西西比、新泽西和华盛顿等州允许年满14岁的男孩、年满12岁的女孩结婚。
3. 韩国：男子和女子均是18岁。如果没满20岁结婚要经过父母同意，而且女性在离婚后的六个月内是不能再婚的。
4. 俄罗斯：男子和女子均是18岁。但特殊情况（已怀孕或已生子）下最低可以是14岁。
5. 伊朗：男子15岁，女子13岁
6. 德国：男子和女子均是18岁
7. 荷兰：男子18岁，女子16岁，父母同意下最低可以是12岁。
8. 澳大利亚：男子和女子均是18岁，经父母同意可16岁结婚。
9. 英国：男子和女子均是16岁。
10. 法国：男子18岁，女子15岁