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The Japanese House of Lords in Tokyo
Photo: Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP
Activists celebrate the new regulation as a significant step forward: In Japan, sex with children and adolescents under the age of 16 will be prohibited in principle. The upper house in Tokyo has unanimously passed a corresponding reform of the sexual criminal law. Previously, the age of consent in Japan was 13 years.
This was the lowest among the G7 countries, it had not been changed since its introduction in 1907. However, sexual acts between two teenagers remain unpunished if both are at least 13 years old and the age difference is not greater than five years.
»Big step forward«
The Japanese human rights group Human Rights Now hailed the reform as a "major step forward." In particular, raising the age of consent sends a message to society that adult sexual violence against children is unacceptable.
The reform of the Sexual Offences Act also provides for new rules on the criminal classification of rape: In the future, sexual assault will no longer be assessed as rape only if the victim defends herself, but also if he or she has been subjected to alcohol or drugs, the perpetrator has threatened him or her or if he or she has taken advantage of his or her social position.
For the first time, forms of voyeurism will also be punishable throughout Japan: Anyone who secretly films other people's genitals or sexual acts, or takes pictures when they are in their underwear, will face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to three million yen (the equivalent of almost 20,000 euros).
Japan had already reformed its sexual criminal law in 2017, but critics said the changes did not go far enough for critics at the time. Additional pressure was exerted by a series of acquittals in rape trials, which provoked massive outrage.
mfh/svs/AFP