Japan's age of consent was raised from 13, among the world's lowest, to 16 years old on Friday, June 16 as lawmakers passed key reforms to sex crime legislation. | ManilaBulletin READ:
The reforms, which also clarify rape prosecution requirements and criminalise voyeurism, cleared parliament's upper house in a unanimous vote.
The lifting of the age of consent in particular will "send a message to society that sexual violence by adults against children is unacceptable", the group said in a statement. Under the new law, teen couples no more than five years apart in age will be exempt from prosecution if both partners are over 13.
A justice ministry official told AFP earlier this year that the clarifications were not "meant to make it easier or harder" to secure rape convictions, but "will hopefully make court verdicts more consistent".It means that people who use intimidation, seduction or money to coerce children under 16 to meet for sexual purposes will face a prison sentence of up to a year or a fine of 500,000 yen .
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