Japan raises age of consent from 13 to 16 years old

Japan’s age of consent was raised from 13, among the world’s lowest, to 16 years old on Friday as lawmakers passed key reforms to sex crime legislation.

The reforms, which also clarify rape prosecution requirements and criminalise voyeurism, cleared parliament’s upper house in a unanimous vote.

Campaigners welcomed the reforms, with the Tokyo-based group Human Rights Now calling them “a big step forward”.

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.

The age of consent — below which sexual activity is considered statutory rape — is 16 in Britain, 15 in France, and 14 in Germany and China.

Japan’s had been unchanged since 1907, with children aged 13 and above deemed capable of consent.

In practice however, across many parts of the country regional ordinances banning “lewd” acts with minors were sometimes seen as effectively raising the age of consent to 18.

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.