Japan weighs lifting age of consent from 13

TOKYO, Feb 18 (Japan Today) - A Japanese justice ministry panel on Friday proposed raising the country's age of consent, currently among the world's lowest at just 13, as part of a major overhaul of sex crime legislation.

The move to raise the age of consent to 16 is part of a package of reforms that would also clarify rape prosecution requirements and criminalize voyeurism.

The recommendations presented to the justice minister come after a series of rape acquittals that sparked outcry, and will form the basis for draft amendments that could be enacted by parliament later this year.

Japan's age of consent, the lowest among the G7 industrialized nations, has stayed unchanged since its enactment in 1907. ...continue reading

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