Comments on: What Japan thinks of recent news topics http://whatjapanthinks.com/2012/04/11/what-japan-thinks-of-recent-news-topics/ From kimono to keitai; research Japanese facts and figures through translated opinion polls and surveys. Thu, 10 Apr 2014 22:29:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.2 By: hitori http://whatjapanthinks.com/2012/04/11/what-japan-thinks-of-recent-news-topics/comment-page-1/#comment-249913 Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:27:01 +0000 http://whatjapanthinks.com/?p=4857#comment-249913 Interesting. Lets compare this to where I live currently, namely the Netherlands.
Q1: school years always start at the end of August here.
Q2: It is still a lot lower than here. Commodity products etc are taxed on 20% and the government is planning to raise this even further O.o (the tax on fuel is the highest of Europe and even more ridiculous)
Q3: Pension age has recently lifted to 67 years and will likely increase even more. (Japan is still the country with the highest life expectancy (I think ))
Q4: Have that already here. Social Security number is now used for almost everything.
Q5: Legal age is 18. But drinking alcohol (beer, not strong drinks) is legal at the age of 16.
Q6: We have a queen at the top of our current democratic-monarchy.
(I am aware that Japan is not the Netherlands though)
I wonder what the future and these plans will bring to Japan.

]]> By: DerekNobuyuki http://whatjapanthinks.com/2012/04/11/what-japan-thinks-of-recent-news-topics/comment-page-1/#comment-249912 Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:41:42 +0000 http://whatjapanthinks.com/?p=4857#comment-249912 It’s crazy to me that so many people oppose a sales tax increase when the driving catalyst for the increase was 3/11 (that my home region had 3x the amount of sales consumption tax). I get that people dislike tax increases in general but at the same time they present no alternatives

What I’d like to know, however, how many 18 years-olds are in favour of lowering the age of majority to 18. Japan would actually afford them the right to vote; something my home country does not afford to its citizens living abroad. Then again, it may also mean that 18 year-olds would be tried as adults.

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