The amendment is just one part of a broader overhaul of the country's sex crime laws. Japan's parliament also passed a new law on Friday to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ issues, with the aim of ensuring greater equality for same-sex groups.
Japanese women hold a protest against sexual violence in Tokyo in 2021. Photo: CNN
The reforms are generally aimed at providing more protection for victims of sex crimes and harsher punishments for sex offenders in Japan, a country where the legislative and judicial branches have long been dominated by men.
It wasn't until 2017 that Japan revised its criminal code on sex crimes for the first time in 110 years. A series of acquittals in sexual abuse cases and a growing number of cases of secretly photographing girls sparked public outrage, prompting the new revisions.
The changes, enacted on Friday, make sex with someone under the age of 16 considered rape in Japan. The new law outlines eight situations of “non-consensual sexual crimes,” a new term for forced sex, including assault under the influence of alcohol or drugs, in a state of fear or intimidation.
The law also bans filming, distributing, and possessing sexual images taken without consent. The statute of limitations for sex crimes has also been extended by five years, to 10 years for nonconsensual sex. That crime now carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years, while “secret photography” carries a prison sentence of up to three years.
Japan is the only G7 member without legal protections for LGTBQ+. However, the Japanese public is increasingly supportive of same-sex marriage and other rights. The new law says conditions should be created so that “all citizens can live with peace of mind.”
Bui Huy (according to AP, CNN, Kyodo)
Source
Comment (0)