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Japan’s Historic Sex Crime Law Reform: Age of Consent Raised from 13 to 16

  • Posted on June 16, 2023
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  • By Stiti pragnya padhy
  • 306 Views
raises its age of consent



In a historic turn of events, Japan amended its sex crime laws on Friday, raising the age of consent from 13 to 16.


The age of consent in Japan was one of the lowest in the world. While in Britain it is 16, France stands at 15, followed by Germany and China, where the age of consent is 14.


This has been considered a significant development in legislation as the age of consent in Japan had remained the same since 1907. The Japanese Parliament's upper house, known as the Diet, unanimously passed the new bill that not only throws light on the requirements for rape prosecution but also criminalizes voyeurism as well as the online grooming of children. Voyeurism, which refers to the act of deriving pleasure by secretly watching other people in sexual scenarios, will include “photo voyeurism”.


This has been considered a significant development in legislation as the age of consent in Japan had remained the same since 1907.
The new bill clarifies rape prosecution requirements and criminalises voyeurism

Other Major Amendments

"Forcible sexual intercourse" was replaced by "non-consensual sexual intercourse" in the definition of rape. This move brought the definition of rape in Japan to par with other countries. Along with this, eight scenarios were added to the new laws, which contain situations wherein it may be difficult for a victim to "form, express, or fulfill an intention not to consent" to sexual intercourse. It could be an instance where the victim is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, subjected to violence or threats, "frightened or astonished" or is "worried" about the consequences of refusal in case of abuse of power.


The age of consent in Japan was one of the lowest in the world. While in Britain it is 16, France stands at 15
The so-called Flower Demo is a social movement that has called for stricter sex crime laws(Photo: AFP)

Previously in Japan, an individual who was caught engaging in sexual activity with a minor would only face punishment if there was a five-year age gap or more between the both of them. Also, the timeframe for reporting rape cases as per the law was limited to 10 years only. Now, this window has been increased to 15 years to enable survivors more time to come forward and report instances of rape.


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Stiti pragnya padhy

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