Amendment of Penal Code

Country	Japan
Year	2017
Type of Measure	Violence against women > Legislation
Form of Violence	Violence against women and girls

Brief Description

The Penal Code was amended in June 2017 to address crimes related to violence against women in conformity with the reality of the cases. Specifically, punishment provisions have been enhanced through the revision of elements of crime and the statutory penalty for rape to introduce the crime of forcible sexual intercourse and by the creation of crimes of indecency by person having custody of person under 18 and sexual intercourse by person having custody of person under 18. In addition, it has been made possible to prosecute rape and other relevant crimes without a complaint.

Source of Information

Japan's submission for National Review for Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, Beijing+25, 2019, p.27.

For more information: Gender Equality Bureau Cabinet Office