Japan Raises Age of Consent and Redefines Rape Laws.

Japan has passed a series of bills overhauling the country's sex crime laws, including expanding the definition of rape to place greater emphasis on the concept of consent, introducing national legislation against taking explicit photos with hidden cameras, and raising the age of consent to 16. The previous age of consent, at 13, had been among the lowest in the developed world. The new laws mark a major victory for sexual assault survivors and activists, some of whom have spent decades lobbying for these changes. However, there is still more work to be done, such as extending the statute of limitations and recognizing power imbalances in cases involving authority figures.