From the chief’s perspective, the law shows that adults underestimate young people’s competence and therefore give the wiliest ones a loophole to avoid responsibility for their crimes. But, depending on their perspective, readers might think that the law is
right to exempt the chief and his gang from responsibility for their crimes—perhaps their nihilism and rebellion are just signs of their immaturity. Similarly, the chief’s complaints about adults imposing laws on children could be read as analogous to the way the U.S. imposed its own laws on Japan during the occupation. While the gang still doesn’t clearly explain
how their crime will restore order to the world, this political interpretation suggests that they’re literally talking about Japan’s traditional moral order (in which power, honor, and great men used to rule).