TOKYO: The Japanese government has released television commercials and online videos featuring characters from the popular anime series “Tokyo Revengers” to raise awareness about the coming reduction of the legal age of adulthood in Japan.

In the videos, characters from the series urge caution about the new rights young people will have after the age of adulthood is lowered from 20 to 18 in April. For example, the videos warn that contracts are difficult to cancel once concluded, as those aged 18 and older will be able to sign contracts without parental consent.

The anime is based on the manga series of the same name in Kodansha Ltd.’s weekly Shukan Shonen Magazine, which has also been turned into a live-action movie and stage play.

The use of characters from Tokyo Revengers, which is popular among those aged between 10 and 29, “is expected to lead to higher recognition among young people, who are our target,” a representative of the government’s public relations office said.

With the revised Civil Code coming into force on April 1, the definition of adulthood in Japan will be altered for the first time in some 140 years.

On social media such as YouTube and Instagram, the government will release videos that alert viewers of the forthcoming changes and of the harms of scams that may target them.

While those aged 18 and older will be able to sign contracts for loans and rental housing, the legal age for smoking and drinking will remain at 20. As such, the videos feature a popular character using a popular line from the anime to dissuade young people from drinking, smoking and engaging in publicly managed gambling.

“We want people to be aware of the fact that they will become adults and to actively participate in society,” the government representative said.

JIJI Press