A bill to amend the Penal Code and other laws to significantly revise the provisions on sexual crimes was unanimously approved and enacted at a plenary session of the House of Councillors on the 16th.
This revision of the law was a long-cherished wish of victims who have complained that "sexual acts without consent are not allowed."
Jun Yamamoto, 13, who was sexually assaulted by his father for seven years from the age of 7, has been giving lectures and other events revealing his face and name for the past 49 years to convey the reality of sexual victimization.
Wanting to change the current situation where there are many cases where non-consensual sexual acts are not turned into incidents, he formed an organization of victims of sexual violence in 15.
We conducted a questionnaire survey of victims and based on about 2017,6000 responses, we clarified the reality that even if they were not assaulted or threatened, their bodies could not move and resist due to fear, and they appealed for the introduction of the crime of "non-consensual sexual intercourse."
Against this backdrop, acquittals of sexual violence cases have been published one after another in various places, and flower demonstrations of protests have spread.
Partly due to the global movement of "#MeToo," the people concerned gradually began to raise their voices.
As momentum grew and discussions on legal revision began, Mr. Yamamoto was elected as a member of a subcommittee of the Legislative Council for the first time as a party concerned, and has conveyed the thoughts of the victims to the country.
On the 16th, when the revised bill was voted on, I attended the plenary session of the House of Councillors with my colleagues, who said, "We all pushed the very heavy and thick door together," and when it was unanimously passed, we were happy to hold hands.
Mr. Yamamoto said, "I think that there were people who raised their voices while making great sacrifices and people who listened to their voices, which led to changes in society, and I hope that this revision of the law will lead to further progress."