The Japanese Parliament is debating a historic bill to reform laws regarding sexual assaults.

 

Recently, the minimum age for giving consent was raised in the Asian country from 13 to 16 years old, after decades of having the lowest age among developed nations. Additionally, a law is expected to be passed to penalize "upskirting" or the capturing of images or videos of sexual acts or body parts of a person without their consent.

 

This legislation aims to prohibit the filming of minors in "provocative poses" or, as the text indicates, "performing sexual gestures without a legitimate justification."

 

Therefore, a 13-year-old individual was considered "old enough" to give consent for sexual relations, which can be considered a crime in most parts of the world.

 

Although some regions in the country had already attempted to ban these practices, the sentences did not exceed two years of imprisonment.

 

However, the law did not pass easily in Parliament as there were those who opposed it, such as 58-year-old congressman Hirano Honda, who stated that "an individual in their 50s should not be penalized for having consensual sexual relations with a 14-year-old." But later, he retracted his statement and apologized.

 

In addition to the controversy surrounding the minimum age for consent, there is currently a debate about the definition of the crime of rape. This revision of the law represents only the second modification in a century.

 

The redefinition of "rape" is important because under the current legislation, it is considered only as a "forced sexual relationship" linked to assaults, intimidation, or acts committed using force.

 

With the new proposal, the concept would be changed to "non-consensual sexual relationship," focusing on consent under the premise that "no means no," rather than solely on physical assaults.

 

Due to the current definition, prosecutors and judges have interpreted rape and sexual assaults in a limited manner, which has led to victims not reporting the attacks and not having access to justice.