ALI ZANE WRITES – Long criticized for its sex crime laws, Japan has revised the Penal Code, redefining rape as non-consensual sexual intercourse. Previously, rape was classified as forcible sexual intercourse, meaning that the assailant had to have used physical violence to qualify for prosecution. This century-old law has created a silencing culture, leading to both the under-reporting of crimes and lesser punishments for assailants. Now, with this Penal Code reform, prosecutors can consider, for the first time, factors which might adversely affect the victim’s ability to consent, such as: power imbalances; intimidation; mental or physical disorders; the incapacitating effects of alcohol and drugs; and even economic and social status.
The case that started it all: In 2019, a series of rape acquittals induced nation-wide protests and public discourse on sexual violence. The most controversial case involved a father in Nagoya, Japan, acquitted for raping his 19-year-old daughter. The court found that the assault was indeed non-consensual and that the sexual abuse began when the daughter was 13 or 14; but the judge argued that, despite being under her father’s mental control, the assault was legally “consensual” because the daughter did not resist. As a result, the father was set free. Not surprisingly, hundreds of women across the country rallied in the streets to protest, triggering a #MeToo movement in Japan known as the Flower Demo.
Advocates applaud the recently reformed legal definition of rape as a big step forward in ending sexual violence throughout Japan. But is it enough? While the revised Penal Code extended from ten to fifteen years the window of time for survivors to report their rapes, advocates argue that it may take decades for victims to readily confront their assailants. And so, they are calling for an extension of the statute of limitations. Consider that, according to a 2020 government survey, 95% of survivors don’t report their assaults to police and 60% never tell anyone.
The residual effects of Japan’s minimizing —if not outright dismissing—- rape cases will endure for many years. Yet the revised criteria for rape will no doubt encourage victims to seek justice—ending, ultimately, a long-held cultural stigma against victims of sex crimes.
Edited by executive editor Ella Kelleher.
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