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.

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.

It would be the first change to the law that defines adulthood since it was set in 1876.

'Adolescence now lasts from 10 to 24'

At what age do you reach adulthood?

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.

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.

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.

Separately, the bill will allow 18 and 19-year-olds to sign contracts for mobile phones and credit cards.