Japan revised its sex crime laws for the first time in more than a century on Friday — a historic move that broadens the definition of rape, lengthens prison terms and makes prosecution possible even if those who claim they are victims don't press charges.
A package of amendments unanimously approved by the Upper House in the final hours of this session of the Diet represents the first shake-up of Japan's sex crime laws, which have remained effectively untouched since their inception in 1907.
"Japan's current legal system doesn't protect people who went through the most unbearable experience human beings could possibly imagine," Jun Yamamoto, a survivor of childhood molestation, told the Upper House Committee on Judicial Affairs prior to the revised laws' passage.