SEX CRIMES, SEX CRIMES
KEYWORDS: CRIMINAL LAW, SEX CRIMES, JUVENILE LAW

Its hilarious sometimes to hear Europeans preaching on about their modern system and separation of church and state, particularly their dismissal of the appointment of the proposed EU minister from Italy for expressing his private views on homosexuality. This is why I refer to the EU now as The Empire. The views of this new elite is to be forced down the throats of all to meet the demands of this new moral, but godless society. Yet the reality is that so much of their society, as indeed every society, is based on deep seated beliefs handed down over thousands of years, traditionally in the form of religion. The hilarity of this modern European position is to watch their gatherings. A huge number of flags, with well over half bearing the Cross of Christianity. If many of these “modern” laws were based on the ‘logic” of the new modern moral elites, one would think that Japan would be the one society where this could be proven. Japan of course is the one major modern nation with no tradition of a powerful Christianity. If there was some logical basis for many laws other than religion, one would think that Japan would be the proving ground. It certainly could not be a place like the Philippines where to this day you see the Filipinos celebrating their defeat at the hands of the Spanish and their subjugation to the Catholic religion in the oldest Spanish settled city in the country, Cebu, in their annual Sinulog fiesta. The influence of religion is seen throughout their legal system. Laws handling sex in particular is where religion makes its strongest stand. And in this area, the history of Japanese law is interesting. So much of modern day Japanese laws related to sex did not basically exist prior to its entanglement with the West. Even the idea of separate bathing for men and women in that great tradition of Japanese bathing, was based on disapproval from the West. For centuries that separation did not exist. As recently as the 1930s, when faced with economic depression, parents were selling their children for whatever purposes. In response to economic logic, not morality or religion, sons went to work (or the military) the daughters often went to bed. Geisha and the famous “floating world” of the Tokugawa Shogunate had no religious bindings. As recently as the American soldiers entering Japan, areas where women would be available for them were swiftly set up so as to avoid trouble with “reputable” women (not a religious concept). Open, near official, notorious red light districts existed until the Americans outlawed them. Homosexuality? Research Nobunaga the first shogun to unite Japan. Pedophilia? The Tale of Genji ends in one chapter with Genji bedding a boy. The laws banning these practices in Japan were either imposed during the American occupation or as means for Japan to save face, and  appear civilized to the West. The most recent example was the very rapid response to allegations of sex slave trafficking in Japan by the US government. In Japan where legal changes are usually studied to death for years, the legislation went through in a year.

As part of an overall get tough program in Japan, whether for the criminal laws in general, or for cracking down on foreigners, now blamed for much of the increase in criminality (justifiably or unjustifiably), the government also strengthened laws on child prostitution and pornography. The maximum punishment for buying sex from a minor was raised from 3 million yen to 5 million yen and the maximum jail term raised to five years from three years. The maximum penalty for those who broker child prostitutes for business was raised from 5 million yen to 10 million yen and the jail term from five years to seven years. New provisions ban sending child porn photos via email and punish those who photograph or take images of child pornography.

Being among the technologically elite, Japan’s sex crimes in 2004 had a lot to do with technology. Many a youth, primarily female, were out there on websites offering themselves semi-anonymously for rent. Particularly in Japan, where picture phones and phones with internet connectivity have now long been around, the government has had a hard time keeping up with the technologically advanced youth. In the first six months of 2004 police made 371 arrests involving child prostitution. During the same period, 785 were apprehended in relation to dating websites. Of those, 221 involved high school girls and 182 from junior high schools. From September 13, 2003 Japan enforced a law banning such internet websites where young people under 18 offered themselves or if someone offers money for sex with a minor. One man was arrested for seeking minors for sex. One prefecture, Miyagi prefecture, reported that child prostitution had increased 800% since the enforcement of the anti-child prostitution and pornography law in 2000.

Japanese police authorities claim that serious crimes such as rape and robbery related to these dating sites rose 37% to 1,510, with 84% involving girls under the age of 18. Most girls were accessing the websites through their cell phones. A Tokyo banker was arrested after meeting a girl through a telephone dating club. The girl turned out to be 15 but he thought she was 18. He was busted under the anti-child prostitution and pornography law. Interestingly, a police officer arrested on the basis of the same law for meeting a 17 year old was released because the business told her to lie about her age. The policeman did resign. Another man posing as a policeman was given a life sentence for molesting 12 elementary school students in his car. A fireman was arrested under the anti-child prostitution and pornography law when he ran off and failed to pay his 15 year old victim. A 14 year old girl was arrested for pimping her high school class mates.

One high school teacher was arrested after his return from Cambodia for having sex with minors there. This was not his first arrest. In 2003 he had been arrested for coming back to Japan with a computer hard drive with 6.400 pornographic pictures of the young girls he had met there. The Chiba Summary Court in that case fined him 500,000 yen and let him go.

A famous film director got a prison term of two years and 4 months for having sex with two girls, aged 12 & 14. A yakuza criminal gang member was arrested for producing child pornography. He reportedly made over 1 billion yen in 18 months. Besides being arrested for violating the anti-child prostitution and pornography law he was also charged for using a bank account with a false name. One case came up of a sex club basically kidnapping two 15 year old girls and keeping them hostage in an apartment for use with clients.
 
The situation is getting so bad with respect to young people that the Tokyo Metropolitan government is considering legislation holding the parents responsible when their offspring get involved in such activity.

In cases of sexual molestation, not prostitution, in the year 2003, police reported that 41% of the suspects were repeat offenders. Thus, after a particularly gruesome child rape/murder, Japan is now giving serious consideration to a notification system for sex offenders’ neighbors, like they have in the USA.

In accord with the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses, Tokyo Metropolitan Police have been cracking down on those touting sexual services, particularly in the famous Kabukicho section of Shinjuku-ku. Following the crack down there was reportedly an increase in sex advertisements in tabloid newspapers. Police planned to notify the publishers that these practices also violate the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved Attorney Roderick H. Seeman

DISCLAIMER JapanLaw.info is intended purely for introductory, educational purposes. If you plan a transaction in Japan, consult with a licensed Japanese attorney. THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. THIS PUBLICATION COULD INCLUDE INACCURACIES OR ERRORS IN TYPOGRAPHY OR TRANSLATION .