Japan's lower house on Tuesday passed a bill to raise the age of sexual consent from 13 to 16 to protect children from sexual abuse as part of reforms to the country's Penal Code.The bill, which will also criminalize sexual offenses even in the absence of physical violence or coercion, will be sent to the upper house following it receiving unanimous consent in the House of Representatives.The amendments will make upskirting and capturing surreptitious images of genitalia as well as grooming through the offer of payments to children below the age of 16 crimes punishable under the Penal Code.…READ FULL ARTICLE
