The age of consent determines the age at which a person has the right to give legal consent to intimate acts and to have sexual intercourse with others. Under federal law in Japan, the age of consent is 13-year-old boys and girls. How is this expressed in the legislation of the country, and how is it reflected in the sexual culture of adolescents?
Sex and Marriage Laws
According to Chapter XXII Article 177 of Japan's penitentiary system, anyone who has sex with a woman under the age of thirteen commits a felony that is considered rape and is punishable by a minimum of three years' imprisonment with forced labor works. However, under the Children's Welfare Act, Section 6, Section 34, Chapter II, states that "no one shall commit fornication with children." At the same time, the word "fornication" is interpreted as sexual acts, and "children" refers to persons under 18 years of age. The punishment inthis case is not specified.
Despite the fact that thirteen-year-old boys reach the age of consent in Japan, they are not allowed to marry before the age of 18. Girls can get married at the age of 16. At the same time, persons under the age of 20, which is considered an adult in Japan, cannot marry without parental consent.
Territorial provisions
All prefectures and municipalities in the country have independent laws on the age at which young people can consent to sexual intercourse. Most prefectures have criminal and administrative statutes against obscenity committed against minors and payment for their sexual services. Also in many territories in Japan, the age of consent ranges from 16 to 18, and it is illegal to engage in sexual activity with partners who are under that limit. But there is one caveat: if the parents do not approve of such a relationship. For example, in Tokyo, a person must be at least 17 years old to have the right to consent to any form of sexual relations, and in seven prefectures of the country, this age starts at 18 years old. But on some isolated islands, like Minamitori, the local age of consent is still 13.
The image of a schoolgirl is a sexy symbol of Japan
Girls in school uniforms going to class in a group, a phenomenon of a modernized society that appeared in Japan withbeginning of the 20th century. After the war, the image of an innocent schoolgirl began to be actively used in pop music and cinema. In the early 1970s, thirteen-year-old Momoe Yamaguchi became the country's pop idol, performing "Green Peach," a song with a very ambiguous chorus, while playing the part of a "bad girl."
Simultaneously, since this period, the largest Japanese film company Nikkatsu for the first time made a number of films where schoolgirls were subjected to sexual and other forms of violence. The theme, picked up by several other studios, began to be widely used in the film industry, becoming a tasty bait for an all-male audience. Such films gained incredible popularity, they were not considered child pornography and were legal, since the age of consent in Japan at that time everywhere started at 13 years old. The image of schoolgirls in the early 1990s became enterprisingly used in comics, cartoons, video and photo pornography.
The Market Value of Japanese Schoolgirls
In the early 1990s, a generation of 13-18 year old girls suddenly realized the demand for their bodies and age, which, despite the acute economic crisis in the country, had a stable value. Thus, the practice of enjo-kosai, "paid dates" of older men with schoolgirls, began to spread rapidly. This phenomenon had nothing to do with pedophilia, since thirteen-year-old girls corresponded to the age of sexual consent. In Japan, prostitution is officially prohibited, and therefore enjo-kosaiillegal only if schoolgirls accept gifts or money for sexual favors from men. But, as a rule, both sides claim that the schoolgirl only accompanies the man and spends time with him without having sexual contact, and he financially compensates for her attention.
According to the UN, the sexual exploitation of children in Japan has reached appalling levels. Today, about 13% of female middle and high school students provide escort services to men, and the country has a developed network of firms that organize enjo-kosai for clients with girls who have reached the age of consent in Japan. There are about 110 registered agencies of this kind in the country, and another three dozen operate unofficially.
Action taken
Despite the fact that the age of consent in Japan in various prefectures and municipalities exceeds 13 years old, many of the schoolgirls who practice enjo-kosai are under 14 years old. Finally, in June 2017, a law was passed banning paid dates in Tokyo for girls under the age of 18. Agencies that provide intermediary or arranging services for enjo-kosai, as well as those who incite girls to do so, will be fined up to one million yen, which is approximately the equivalent of $9,000.
For the first time in Japan, a law was passed restricting the sexual activity of schoolgirls for money, as well as aimed at reducing the demand for such services and stopping the exploitation of girls under the age of 18 by commercial enterprises. This legislation only applies toto Tokyo, but there is hope that such an experience will spread to at least part of the state.
