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On Monday, Japan’s Ministry of Justice publicly presented a draft to amend the country’s penal code and raise the age of consent. Currently, the age of consent in Japan is 13, but the proposed revision would raise it by three years, to 16.
As the primary purpose of the amendment is to strengthen protections for children against being sexually exploited by adults, as opposed to designating mutually willing teenagers having sex with each other as outlaws, the draft includes a provision that that sexual activity with a person older than 13 but younger than 16 is punishable only if the older party is over five years older, such as, for instance, a 20-year-old being sexually involved with a 15-year-old.
While Japan’s age of consent being 13 is a fact that gets bandied about with somewhat concerning frequency in online discussions about the country, in practice a number of local laws already criminalize adults entering into sexual relations with such young minors. Making such conduct against national law gives prosecutors one more charge to levy at violators, though, and the draft’s proposed revisions would also introduce a number of other changes meant to provide better protection against sexual assault, as well as support for victims. In light of how feelings of shame and embarrassment can make it difficult for victims to quickly come forward, the draft would extend the statute of limitations in which to file charges by an additional five years. In the case of victims for whom the crime happened while they were still a minor, the number of years between when the incident took place and the victim turned 18 (the age of legal adulthood in Japan) would be added to the statute of limitations as well.
The draft would also broaden the definition of what constitutes a sex crime. Currently, the law requires violence or intimidation on the part of the offender, as well as for the situation being physically and/or psychologically difficult for the victim to resist, but the proposed revisions would add other conditions such as forced alcoholic intoxication as sufficient for the perpetrator’s actions to be considered sexual assault.
Source: Mainichi Shimbun via Livedoor News
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- Japanese politicians submit bill to lower legal adulthood age, raise marriage age for women
-- “But she looked 13!” is no excuse in the eyes of the Japanese law, 40-something man learns
-- 16-year-old Japanese girls will no longer be allowed to marry, age of legal adulthood moves to 18
- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2022/10/26/japanese-government-proposes-raising-age-of-consent-from-its-current-13-years-old/
26 Comments
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gogogo
No brainer there, should have been done a long time ago.
finally rich
Literally hundreds of thousands of lonely horny japanese women out there, from college students to absolutely gorgeous women all the way to their 50s, I still have a hard time trying to understand why some people still play with fire.
Olive
Good policy. Nice to see the government acting in the best interests of its people
Good
It's a good idea
Gazman
It’s about time, it’s not rocket science is it!
AramaTaihenNoYouDidnt
Wish I could say "Well done" yet who are they kidding. For a commoner, he or she will receive the full extend of the punisherable law, but for a prominent figure - it will most likely goes concealed and unnoticed.
wallace
A National law needs to replace the prefecture ones.
Elvis is here
That is the funniest post I have ever read. ROFLMAO
(//∇//)\
TokyoJoe
Pedophilia is pre pubescent. Lol, 13-16, you must have been a late bloomer crickey?.
purple_depressed_bacon
What's there to propose? Change the damn law already. Having the age of consent being thirteen is utterly disturbing and unhinged.
smithinjapan
Uh-oh! What are all the magazines who dress little children in bikinis and have them bend over for the camera going to do? Probably won't be considered any kind of sexual exploitation of children and will continue to be in everyone's visual range near the doors to the stores.
proxy
Great move to extend the statute of limitations by 5 years. Not uncommon for a woman to take years and years to come to terms with being assaulted and approach the police.
Yubaru
Believe me, those old guys that are screwing around with under-age girls are certainly getting their morale up!
Yrral
No man should be involved,with any female,that is not 18 years old or older and emotional mature
shogun36
uhhh........good?
so, where is the national sex offenders list now?
and how about actually enforcing some of these laws for once?
commanteer
Maybe you should avoid those kinds of stores, and stick to konbinis.
JTC
We are living in a time of Woke-ness, and Weirdness.
There is without doubt, that we should protect Children from Sexual Predators - though, between themselves... at an age of discovery, this seems more like something that needs to be dealt with between Families, than the Law.
I wonder, these days, has the Novel "Cider with Rosie" by Laurie Lee, bee banned ? In my day, it was a Compulsory reading.
I myself, recall from the age of 10, kids in my area playing a Game called "Kiss, Cuddle or Buck..." I can let you guess what the latter meant.
As for the usage of a Sex Offenders List, this is getting stupid. In a Bar, if you've been chatting to a person next to you, and then put your hand on a her leg and drunkenly say, I want to .... you, she can nowadays, take offense and accuse you of a sexual offense. (There's actually a recent case similar in context to that, within the UK - the guy fell asleep shortly afterwards having said it too).
I think, the "woke-brigade" has gone too far, and is starting to mess up Global Life, and is perhaps one reason why people may be starting to not wanting to get into relationships, marriages and having Kids.
Mark
18 is the right number, by then kids are old and mature enough to know and comprehend the situation. 13 is a crime, 16 the hormones are out of control, 18 we start to think twice and reconsider.
u_s__reamer
Under the proposed change in the law we'll have to read Shakespeare anew since thirteen-year-old Juliet will now become jailbait for Romeo.
I still have a hard time trying to understand why some people still play with fire.
With all those hundreds of thousands of lonely horny japanese women out there, from college students to absolutely gorgeous women all the way to their 50s, it's more a question of "light my fire".
Chabbawanga
Just pass it with no further discussion. Anyone against rhe change can go to jail.
Jeremiah
This proposal is a good start. Further protections need to be put in place to protect the young, however.
Japan needs to move to a healthier society overall in which intercourse is seen as a marital relation rather than a mere animalistic scratch of an itch.
Cricky
13 to 16? Not sure that’s an improvement, in the right direction. Like a 5yo to an 8yo old. It’s pedophile territory 13 to 16. But that’s what law makers want so that’s what we get. Pedophle law makers.
Jonathan Prin
If sex is voluntary, it is never a question of age. It is a question of morale.
Child exploitation, whatever age including 17, is exploitation.
Just make law sentences harsher the younger the child is.
Totally silly to imagine that age difference has to do something with sex when both participants are physically mature.
Anyway, it is a morale question. Some countries accept it from very young and others say it is forbidden until you are old and married.
Either you have hurt and exploited and there is need to punish, if not then why care.