Japan raises age of consent from 13 to 16 in reform of sex crimes law

Category : International Published on: June 20 2023

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Japan has raised the age of consent from 13, among the world’s lowest, to 16 years old as lawmakers passed key reforms to sex crime legislation.
A new bill, which also clarifies rape prosecution requirements and criminalises voyeurism, cleared parliament’s upper house in a unanimous vote.
The age of consent – below which sexual activity is considered statutory rape – is 16 in Britain, 15 in France, and 14 in Germany and China.
In India the age of consent is 18.
Japan’s had been unchanged since 1907, with children aged 13 and above deemed capable of consent.
Under the new law, teen couples no more than five years apart in age will be exempt from prosecution if both partners are over 13.
Japan last revised its criminal code on sexual offences in 2017, for the first time in more than a century.
Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations which does not have LGTBQ legal protections.