A panel of Japan’s Justice Ministry proposed raising the age of consent from 13 to 16 as part of a broad review of sex crime legislation. Presently, Asia has the lowest age of consent among developed countries as well as the G7 group.
The legislation attempts to criminalize the grooming of kids while also broadening the definition of rape. The decision follows a slew of rape acquittals in 2019 that generated widespread outrage. According to the BBC, the government will also raise the statute of limitations for reporting rape from 10 to 15 years.
To get a conviction, victims of rape must demonstrate that “violence and intimidation” were employed during the rape and that it was impossible to resist.
The concept has been expanded to include other factors such as intoxication, drugging, being caught off guard, and psychological control.
Yusuke Asanuma, a ministry official, stated that the measure is not intended to make things simpler or more difficult for rape victims, but rather to make verdicts more consistent.’
The age of consent is 14 in Germany and Italy, 15 in Greece and France, and 16 in the United Kingdom and numerous states in the United States.
In 2019, a father was released after being accused of having sexual relations with his adolescent daughter, even though the court recognized that it was done against his daughter’s will. Once prosecutors filed an appeal, he was sentenced to prison.
The administration could enact this legislation as early as this summer. Despite the possibility of changing the age of consent, the country will make an exemption for intercourse between people who are at least 13 and have a five-year age difference.