Activists seek swift passage of bill on tougher penalties for rape in Japan

Activists campaigning against sexual violence urged Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday to ensure the swift passage of a bill to toughen penalties for rape and other sex offenses during the current Diet session.The request came after the Cabinet approved the bill for sweeping legal revisions last month.Jun Yamamoto, representative of a group composed of survivors of sexual violence such as herself as well as supporters, told a meeting of the LDP's Research Commission on the Judiciary System of her experience as a teenage victim of sexual violence by her father, and urged th…READ FULL ARTICLE