The police and courts tend to define rape narrowly, generally pursuing cases only when there are signs of both physical force and self-defense and discouraging complaints when either the assailant or victim has been drinking.
Last month, prosecutors in Yokohama
dropped a case against six university students accused of sexually assaulting another student after forcing her to drink alcohol.
And even when rapists are prosecuted and convicted in Japan, they sometimes serve no prison time; about one in 10 receive only suspended sentences, according to Justice Ministry statistics.
This year, for example, two students at Chiba University near Tokyo convicted in the
gang rape of an intoxicated woman were released with suspended sentences, though other defendants were sentenced to prison. Last fall, a Tokyo University student convicted in another group sexual assault was also given a
suspended sentence.
"It's quite recent that activists started to raise the 'No Means No' campaign," said Mari Miura, a professor of political science at Sophia University in Tokyo. "So I think Japanese men get the benefit from this lack of consciousness about the meaning of consent."
according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
"Prejudice against women is deep-rooted and severe, and people don't consider the damage from sexual crimes seriously at all," said Tomoe Yatagawa, a lecturer in gender law at Waseda University.
