The government is seeking to impose tougher penalties for sex crimes. Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa is expected to ask the Legislative Council, an advisory panel to the minister, as early as this fall to discuss amending the Penal Code along that line. A report compiled recently by a Justice Ministry panel of experts said a majority opinion called for increasing the minimum prison term for rape and making it possible for investigators to file rape and sexual assault charges against a suspect even without a formal complaint by the victim.
It has long been said that the penalties for sex crimes in Japan are too lenient. After the introduction of the lay judge system, courts have tended to hand down tougher punishments on sex offenders than when they were tried by professional judges alone, with some rulings in lay judge trials even giving prison terms longer than what was sought by the prosecutors.
The expert panel was launched last year by Kamikawa's predecessor, Midori Matsushima, who took issue with the fact that the crime of rape carries a minimum prison term of three years — whereas perpetrators of burglary are punished with no less than five years behind bars.