Initially, Spain had the lowest age of consent in Europe, but raised it from 13 to 16 in 2013. While some countries such as UK and Russia have set the age at 16, in other countries such as Malta it is as high as 18. In Europe, the minimum age to have intercourse varies. Earlier, the Philippines’ consent age was 12, but after many protests and outcry, then President Rodrigo Duterte had increased the minimum age to 16 in 2022.īahrain and Portugal’s legal age of consent are the highest in the world at 21 followed by Niue, an Oceanian country at 19 years. In Germany and Italy the age is 14, in Greece and France it is 15 and in the United Kingdom and many American states it is 16.Īcross the world, Nigeria has the lowest age of consent in the world at 11 years, followed by Angola at 12 years. Graphic: Pranay BhardwajĪs of date, Japan’s age of consent is the lowest among the G7 industrialised nations. The number of sexual assault cases, involving violence or threats also rose 9.9 per cent to 4,708 cases. Moreover, the number of sex offences in Japan has spiked sharply, with cases of forced intercourse climbing 19.3 per cent to 1,656 in 2022, according to government data. A higher court later overturned the decision and sentenced the man to 10 years in prison. According to a report in The Guardian, a branch of the Nagoya district court acquitted the father, saying there was no definitive proof that the daughter had been unable to resist, even though it recognised that she had not consented. In 2019, there was outcry in the country after several rape acquittals, including a case in which a man repeatedly raped his teenage daughter. The proposed changes in the laws comes at a significant time for Japan. Justice Ministry official Yusuke Asanuma said that this “isn’t meant to make it easier or harder” for victims to win a rape case but that it should make verdicts “more consistent”.Īlso read: What are Tokyo’s same-sex partnership certificates? How will they benefit couples? Currently, the law requires violence or intimidation on the part of the offender, as well as for the situation being physically and/or psychologically difficult for the victim to resist, but the proposed revisions would add other conditions such as forced alcoholic intoxication as sufficient for the perpetrator’s actions to be considered sexual assault. The draft also wants to broaden the definition of what constitutes a sex crime. Moreover, intercourse with a person between 13 and 15 will be punished if the perpetrator is five or more years older. The changes include declaring sexual intercourse with a person of the age 13 as illegal regardless of consent. Now, the ministry wants to overhaul the laws in Japan. Can the 13-year-old show a Yes or No intention for sexual activity?” What if your child was 13 years old? Think of your 13-year-old brother or sister. The petition had read: “Imagine when you were 13 years old. In November 2020, a group called ‘Your Voice Matters’ had launched an online petition. The proposal to change to Japan’s consent age comes after repeated calls on the same issue. Image used for representational purposes/AFP However, no one over the age of 14 can have sex with 13–14 year-olds. Japan’s legal age to indulge in consensual sex is currently 13 years. But, 13 and 14-year olds are permitted to give consent to each other. The minimum sentence for sex with any female under the age of 13 is five years. However, the laws around sex and rape in Japan are a bit ambiguous under the Juvenile Obscene Acts, passed in 1947, no one over the age of 14 can have sex with 13–14 year-olds. In the over 100 years since then, the age hasn’t changed and is today one of the world’s lowest ages. Therefore, the age of 13, which is two years younger than 15, was considered sensible. In addition, the legal marriageable age was 15 back then. In society at that time, 13 was regarded as a reasonable age of consent. At that time, the average life expectancy of women was 44 years, and it was common for women to marry and have children at a young age. It has been 13 years since 1907 when the Penal Code of Japan set the age limit.
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