The Justice Ministry's Legislative Council on Monday approved a list of recommendations designed to bolster sex crime laws, a major step forward in toughening punishments for offenders.
The recommendation urges raising the minimum sentence for rape offenders to five years from the current three. Such a move would put the penalty on par with punishments for crimes such as murder, arson and robbery.
The nation's archaic sex offense statutes, enacted in the Meiji Era, have drawn criticism for allowing stricter punishment for robbery than for rape.