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Monday, 9th January 2012
In General Japan News,
Coming-of-Age Day witnesses decline in young people
The number of young people celebrating Coming-of-Age Day in Japan today (January 9th) marked a record low in what is the fifth consecutive year of decline.
In the annual national holiday, Japan celebrates the coming of age of young people who turn 20 that year.
This year just 1.22 million people are coming-of-age, less than half of the number when it was at its peak in 1970.
Of those coming of age this year, around 620,000 of them are men and 600,000 women, and together they constitute around 0.96 per cent of the total population of Japan.
According to the figures from the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, this figure has similarly fallen for eight successive years as the Japanese population continues to age.
At the coming-of-age ceremony in Osaka where 49 new adults were congratulated, Mayor Toru Hashimoto said: "It is part of life to pursue things that are worth doing. I want people in their twenties to be the main force in supporting the future of Japan," the Mainichi Daily reported.
In other news, three Australian anti-whaling activists who stowed away on board a Japanese vessel are due to be transferred to Australian custody.
Written by Mark Smith
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