Jakarta –
The Japanese government will raise the legal age for sexual intercourse from 13 to 16. This was proposed by Japan’s Ministry of Justice and is expected to be approved by the Legislative Council in mid-February. The government hopes to enact the revised Criminal Code during a parliamentary session scheduled to last until June 21.
The criminal law subcommittee of the Legislative Council is also working on more specific definitions of crimes of forced sexual intercourse and indecent assault. With the hope, cases and accusations of crimes are more easily built in court.
Some of the things that this law highlights is that sexual relations with children under 13 years of age are illegal regardless of consent. Meanwhile, intimate relations with those aged 13 to 15 years will be punished if the perpetrator is five years or older.
The time limit for reporting rape will also be increased to 15 years from 10 years.
Age of Consent Rules Effective since 1907
Under current law, a child who is at least 13 years old is considered capable of giving consent to have sex. In other words, their sexual activity is not considered rape under the law.
Current law also requires victims to prove that they did not give consent and demonstrate that there was assault or intimidation that made it impossible to resist.
Regional regulations do prohibit obscene acts, including sex, with those under 18 years of age. However, the sentence for that crime is lighter than the rape charge which only carries a five-year sentence.
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