Japanese lawmakers are set to introduce the country’s first laws against taking sexually exploitative photos or videos of others without consent. The language of the bill states that acts such as “upskirting” (taking pictures up a girl’s skirt unbeknownst to her) and secret filming of sexual acts will be prohibited.
The gropers, often called “chikan” in the local language, prey on women, especially in the famously crowded public transport system. For long, there had been demands from the public to bring a law making the offence punishable.
Reports state that anyone found violating the law could face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to $22,000 (Three million Japanese yen).
The bill, once passed, will be part of Japan’s total overhaul of sex crimes. Reportedly, as part of the overhaul, the definition of rape will be expanded as well.
To avoid the menace of “upskirting”, mobile phone manufacturers in the country have also installed audible shutter sounds on the devices.
Three times increase in arrests
According to police statistics, in 2010 there were 1,741 arrests in Japan with regard to illegal photographs of women. The number of arrests swelled three times to over 5,000 in 2021, signalling a grave problem. Some reports at the time claimed that the “perverts” who took the objectionable photos were “bored” amid the pandemic.
In March, several men photographed themselves upskirting and groping anime statues at a theme park in the country. The now-deleted posts showed the masked men touching characters from Studi Ghbili in a sexually suggestive way.
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After the photos went viral, Hideaki Ōmura, governor of central Aichi prefecture, where Ghibli Park is located, issued a warning of “firm and strict” action against the offenders. A couple of weeks after the warning, the three men visited the prefectural office and apologised for their actions.
“I feel deep regret for having caused trouble and disgusting so many people. I will refrain from doing such foolish things in the future. I am truly sorry,” said one of the men.
Notably, Japan is not the only Asian country to have come up with serious rules regarding “upskirting”. In South Korea, those convicted of photo voyeurism face a fine of up to $7,500 (10 million won) or a maximum prison sentence of five years.
Meanwhile, in Singapore, the convicted face up to two years in jail, fines, caning or a combination of penalties. If the victims are younger than 14 years old, the convicted face mandatory imprisonment, plus fines and caning.
(With inputs from agencies)
