This might create an impression that Japan is a country with very strict laws but Japan however has some laws that simply beats common practice in the rest of the world.
These are shocking laws that are legal in Japan but are illegal around the world.
The purpose of this article however is not to provide any legal advice but simply an informative piece to all readers.
1. Age of consent
This is the minimal age at which a person is considered capable of giving consent to sexual acts. The legal age of consent in most countries of the world is 18 years old but in Japan it is 13 years, which is actually one of the lowest in the world. Infact, this has been part of Japanese laws since 1907.Â
However there are some local ordinances in some prefectures in Japan that raise the effective age between 16-18 years but the national age of consent by law at the end of the day is 13 years.
2. Marrying Cousins
In most countries of the world, it is illegal to marry your cousin but in Japan it is totally acceptable to marry even your first cousin. This law was passed in Japan way back in 1898.
There has been many famous and influential people in Japan who are known to marry their first cousin.
For example Japan’s 56th Prime Minister who was also the grand father of the late Shinzo Abe was known to be married to his first cousin.
This law was enacted to allow wealthy families to keep their wealth within their families.
3. DEFAMATION
Defamation can be defined as the oral or written communication of a false statement about another that unjustly harms their reputation and usually constitutes a crime or tort.
Such a definition will be considered incorrect for the same word in Japan. Defamation in Japan doesn’t have to be a false statement. It is still considered DEFAMATION even if the statement is true.
In Japan, statements that damages one’s honour either socially, their value, or how they value themselves even if it’s a true statement is considered defamation and qualifies for compensations and damages as awarded by law to the victim.
For instance in 2018 a person was having an affair and it was posted on social media by a 3rd party. Although the incident was true the person sued the 3rd Party for defamation and a district court in Tokyo ruled in favour of the plaintiff and awarded damages to the tune of 100,000 Yen to the plaintiff.
So these are 3 of very interesting Japanese laws that raises eyebrows in other countries of the world.
What do you make of such laws?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section.
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