When “No” Turns Into a Sticky Legal Knot in Japan
The Real‑Life Story That Got Everyone Talking
Ms Miyako Shirakawa, once a 19‑year‑old college student, has seen her life twist into an almost comic tragedy: a rape that left her mind in a snowy white stillness, a pregnancy nobody reported, and an abortion that closed yet opened a door to years of advocacy.
Today, she’s a psychiatrist fighting for survivors, but her own experience revealed a huge flaw in Japan’s rape law: a requirement that prosecutors prove the victim was unable to resist the attacker. In her case, the whole “no” line is dusty.
Law on Steroids, Courage on the Lam
Under the 2017 overhaul, lawmakers did hard‑line moves:
- Expanded “forced sexual intercourse” to cover anal and oral sex, making men victims too.
- Upped the minimum jail term from three to five years.
- Allowed prosecutions even if victims stay silent.
They also dropped a rule that said a minor’s rape by a parent required violence or intimidation to count as a crime. Unfortunately, the same change for adults didn’t materialize because of fears it would flood the courts with false claims.
Acquittals That Shocked the Nation
Fast forward to March: a Nagoya court cleared a father who’d allegedly forced his 19‑year‑old daughter to copulate. The judge acknowledged “non‑consensual” and a history of abuse but was swayed by the lingering doubt that the girl had literally nothing else to do. The verdict’s tight grip on proving psychological incapacitation is a nightmare for survivors.
When the court tasted this “maximile of doubt” it swallowed up almost all evidence of resistance or lack thereof – a legal haywire that keeps people scared and silent.
Why Everyone is Worrying
- “In Slam” to the “No means Yes” myth – a centuries‑old mindset that women must resist every single time surfaces in criminal verdicts and damages victims’ chances.
- Women who tried to report rape often fear being blamed – a chilling effect that turns victims into tormented hushed voices.
- The #MeToo wave hasn’t surged in Japan. Only 2.8% of victims go to the police. A staggering 60% keep it all inside.
Calling for a World‑Class Transformation
Activists across the city are holding monthly flower‑grasping protests, each bloom symbolizing a battle against silence. Their hopes? The Growing Derision Around the Start-of-Rules—like the “psychological incapacity” test—would break the dam and usher in a new era where any non‑consensual act is simply the crime that it is.
The Japanese “March Legal Reform” group wants to see the law align with peers in the UK, Germany, Canada. A whole new ticket: automatically treat all forced sex as a crime, no exceptions, no suits for “inability to resist.”
What the Letters Mean to the Courts
- A demand has been sent to the Justice Ministry and the Supreme Court in May.
- A parliament panel last month told the Justice Minister this will not be a quick fix; careful analysis is needed.
- Meanwhile, a portion of the ruling LDP has declared itself “Caucus for a Society Without Sexual Violence.”
One Survivor’s Short Real‑Talk
“I felt the verdicts were unbelievable—almost impossible,” says Chihiro Ito, 29, a victim and Spring member. “But the world is shifting. People are noticing that those rulings are wrong. That could spark the debate and push the law into a direction we need.”
With every protest and every testimony, a quiet revolution turns those fragile forests of fear into drought‑free talk—the kind of movement that turns ordinary people’s bemused eyes into eyes that see injustice and demand change.
