Japan has raised the age of sexual consent from 13 to 16 for the first time in a century
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Japan has raised the age of sexual consent from 13 to 16 as part of a reform of sex crimes laws. However, under the new law, teenage couples with an age difference of no more than 5 years will be exempt from prosecution if both partners were over 13 years old. The new bill, which also clarifies the requirements for punishment for rape and criminalizes voyeurism (watching a person in an intimate moment), was unanimously approved by the upper house of parliament, reports The Japan Times. Age of consent is a criminal law term that refers to the age at which a person is considered capable of giving informed consent to sexual contact. Sex before this age is considered rape. Read also: A 13-year-old schoolgirl gave birth to a 15-year-old boy: he was accused of rape. Illustrative photo: Eri Takahashi/GettyImages The age of consent in Ukraine is 16. In Great Britain – 16 years, in France – 15 years, in Germany and China – 14 years. In Japan, it has remained unchanged since 1907 and is one of the lowest in the world, with children aged 13 and over considered capable of consenting to sexual relations. In practice, many parts of the country have regional ordinances that prohibit “indecent” acts with minors and actually raise the age of consent to 18. Japan last revised its criminal code for sex crimes in 2017, but the reforms were not substantial. And in 2019, a series of acquittals in rape cases sparked nationwide rallies. Under the previous law, prosecutors had to prove that victims were incapacitated by violence and intimidation. Critics of the laws argued that the requirement effectively blamed the victims for not putting up enough resistance. On June 16, Japan supported a new draft law specifying the circumstances under which criminal cases of rape can be opened. In particular, it is about the victim being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, intimidation or the abuser’s use of his social status. The Ministry of Justice hopes that these clarifications will make court sentences “more consistent.” The bill also creates a new offense related to dating requirements. Criminal liability threatens people who intimidate, tempt or offer money to force children under 16 to meet them for sexual relations. Such offenders will be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to 1 year or a fine of ¥500,000 (US$3.5 thousand). It will be recalled that earlier the lawyer explained whether marital rape exists for Ukrainian legislation. And sociologists learned that 4% of Ukrainians were victims of rape in childhood. Read also: Gang rape of a girl in Transcarpathia: what is wrong with the sentence and what are the chances of justice
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