June 14, 2023

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Nihi Sohei on June 13 demanded that the government conduct a large-scale fact-finding survey on sexual violence in order to enable the criminal justice system to be supportive of victims and survivors.

At a meeting of the House Judicial Affairs Committee discussing a revision of the Penal Code regarding sexual crimes, Nihi pointed out that there are situations in which victims and survivors of sexual violence and abuse are often unable to face up to what happened to them and have difficulty in reporting the crime due to PTSD.

Nihi referred to the results of a sexual violence survey conducted in 2022 by Japan’s sole public broadcaster NHK. The survey collected responses from more than 38,000 people and found out that 74.6% of respondents experienced sexual violence when they were under 20 years old.

Nihi pointed out that the statute of limitations on sexual abuse claims should be extended. Pointing out that the government proposed a 5-year extension in its Penal Code revision bill, he said, “This is insufficient. The limitation period should be extended for more than five years to enable sexual assault survivors to seek access to justice to hold perpetrators accountable.” He demanded that in order to achieve this, the government must begin by carrying out a massive survey without delay.

Justice Minister Saito Ken in reply said that the government-proposed revision bill contains a provision requiring that surveys be conducted if necessary to understand the challenges facing sexual violence victims and survivors, including the difficulty of reporting the crime. He expressed his intent to conduct a fact-finding survey in collaboration with relevant government organizations.