Many high school students believe offenders aged 14 and up should face the same penalties that adult criminals face, according to the results of a private survey released Saturday.
The survey, conducted by job information firm Recruit Co., shows that 23.8 percent of respondents believe young offenders aged 16 or older should be punished as severely as adults.
Sixteen percent said juveniles should be subject to such penalties after turning 15, while 13.5 percent said age 13. The average age chosen was 13.8.
All told, 60.8 percent of respondents picked 15 years of age as the starting year for adult criminal responsibility and 94.5 percent chose 18 years, according to the poll.
The findings follow the enactment late last year of a bill revising the Juvenile Law by lowering the minimum age at which suspects can be held criminally responsible for their actions from 16 to 14.
Recruit surveyed 1,000 third-year high school students across Japan in the summer and analyzed a sample of responses by 200 boys and 200 girls.
About 18 percent said authorities should name and release photos of young criminals if they are 16 or older, 14.8 percent said at age 15 and 12.5 percent named age 18. The average age was 14.4.
Asked if they wanted to become adults, 30.5 percent said no and 22.5 percent said they were eager for adulthood.