More than 1,000 teenagers respond to the School General Election Project regarding lowering the age of adulthood to 18. The top responses to this question are "spend money on my hobbies" and "give back to my parents."

2022.01.11 Press Releases
CCC Marketing Co., Ltd. / T Point Japan Co., Ltd.

-On the other hand, about 40% feel "uneasy about lowering the age of adulthood"-

CCC Marketing Co., Ltd. (Head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Kazuhiko Kitamura) and T-Point Japan Co., Ltd. (Head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Kazuhiko Kitamura) are working on the "School General Election Project," a social project that connects the younger generation, from junior high and high school students to those in their 20s who will be responsible for the future, with politics and society.The project's mission is to convey the voices of the younger generation to the world and create an opportunity for social change.

In response to the lowering of the age of majority to 18 from April 1, 2022, the School General Election Project conducted an online survey on "18-year-old adulthood" from Tuesday, December 14, 2021 to Thursday, December 23, 2021, and received responses from 1,096 "pre-adults" aged 16 to 19 from across the country who will soon become adults.

■60% of people are aware of when the "age of adulthood" will come into effect. Some people said, "I don't know when."
First, we asked about awareness of the fact that the age of majority will be lowered to 18 from April 1, 2022. 61.4% of pre-adults answered that they "knew when the age would be lowered," indicating that 60% understand when the "age of majority at 18" will come into effect. On the other hand, 33.1% of teenagers responded that they knew the age of majority would be lowered, but did not know when.

■ 40% of pre-adults feel uneasy about lowering the age of adulthood
When asked whether they felt anxious about the lowering of the age of majority, 12.3% answered "anxious," 26.5% answered "slightly anxious," 31.2% answered "can't say," 14.3% answered "not very anxious," and 15.7% answered "not anxious," indicating that many pre-adults feel somewhat anxious.

■ "Independence" and "responsibility" mean "becoming an adult"
We also asked participants to write freely about what it means to become an adult, and when we analyzed the results, we found that frequently mentioned words were "independence," "responsibility," "being able to do," "living," and "earning money," suggesting that people consider "becoming an adult" to mean being financially independent and taking responsibility for their own actions and decisions. This may also be the reason for the anxiety.

*Investigated using user-local AI text mining https://textmining.userlocal.jp/

■When I become an adult, I want to spend money on my hobbies and give back to my parents.
Next, we asked respondents to select multiple options about what they would like to do when they become adults, and the top three answers from both men and women were "spending money on my hobbies," "repaying my parents," and "spending money freely."

The number one question that pre-adults want to ask adults is, "What should I do when I'm young?"
When asked what they would like to ask adults, the top answer for both men and women was "What should I do when I'm young?"The second most popular answer for men was "Is life fun?" at 35.9%, followed by "What do you feel you have left undone as an adult?" at 32.3%. For women, the second most popular answer was "What do you feel you have left undone as an adult?" at 45.4%, followed by "Is life fun?" at 40.7%.

■Comment from Hiroki Ishii, project leader of the "School General Election Project"
While it is hoped that lowering the age of majority to 18 will encourage greater mental independence and expand challenges and possibilities, there is also a tendency to worry about whether there are any things that should be done from this point on, and there are also voices expressing anxiety about "taking responsibility."I believe that in order to prepare for becoming an adult at 18, efforts will be required not only to teach knowledge about the workings of society from the school education stage, but also to increase opportunities for children to actually interact with adults and society.
It was also striking that along with wanting to spend money and time on themselves when they become adults, the desire to repay their parents for all they have done for them was one of the top answers.

Through the "School General Election Project," CCC Marketing and T-Point Japan aim to foster "global citizenship" among young people, enabling them to proactively engage in, make decisions about, and take action on social issues, leading to the achievement of SDG Goal 4: "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all."With our group mission of "UNIQUE DATA, SMALL HAPPY," we aim for "T" to be a presence that "connects people and society," and we will continue to work to create new social value.

<"School General Election" service overview>
■Project name: School General Election Project

■Project start date: Tuesday, October 13, 2020
■Project details: The "School General Election Project" is based on CCC's founding intention of "providing a base for young people with information on new lifestyles," and is a "place" where young people who will be responsible for the future can co-create new discoveries and ideas that will serve as the foundation for living in the future. Aimed at the younger generation, from junior high and high school students to those in their 20s, we will raise themes related to issues affecting the future generation of young people from a wide range of areas, from politics and social issues to higher education and school, and provide neutral information on the issues raised and a forum for deeper dialogue among people of the same generation. By actually "voting" on the website, we will create an opportunity for each junior and senior high school student to take an active role and express their opinions. We also publish articles on note reporting on voting results that compile the "voices" of junior and senior high school students, as well as interviews with experts, and we also provide a forum for planning and dialogue with opinion leaders.

■ Survey application period: Tuesday, December 14, 2021 to Thursday, December 23, 2021
■ Survey method: Online survey
■ Survey area: All of Japan
■ Survey subjects and number of surveyed: 1,096 people aged 16 to 19

Materials related to this matter

More than 1,000 teenagers respond to the School General Election Project regarding lowering the age of adulthood to 18. The top responses to this question are "spend money on my hobbies" and "give back to my parents."

Inquiries regarding this matter
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