The Wakayama Prefectural Police revealed on May 8, 2024 that Your Name. movie producer Koichiro Itou has been referred to prosecutors for additional violation of Child Prostitution & Pornography law in Japan, after it came to light that he had paid an underage girl for sexual intercourse.

The latest case involved a 17-year-old high school girl from Yokohama. Investigators believe Itou knew the girl was a minor when he paid her 30,000 yen for having sexual intercourse at his residence in December 2023.

He is also suspected of taking and saving photographs of the act.

    • Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      27
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      8 months ago

      You know 16 is the age of consent for well over half the US states as well right? Not defending people that abuse that fact, but that is a very common age to use as the cutoff point.

          • T00l_shed@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            8
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            8 months ago

            There are Romeo and Juliette laws for things like that, essentially a reasonable age gap.

            • LeadersAtWork@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              6
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              edit-2
              8 months ago

              Yes. However, for everyone that doesn’t understand why the word “reasonable” is important here: When it comes to age differences and sexual relationships, what a “reasonable person thinks” isn’t nearly as important as how a reasonable person might react when laying down a sentence. Sexual misconduct involving the word “Minor”, which immediately brings with it terms like “Coercion”, “Authority”, and the “inability to give consent” tend to receive strong reactions, and strong responses.

              Basically, if you’re 18 and your partner is 17, be extremely cautious to the point of not becoming sexually active together. This includes videos and photos. People’s lives have been ruined for less. I am not in any way advocating for and validating (or dismissing) large age gaps, only providing information for our younger users who may not realize this.

              • T00l_shed@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                3
                ·
                8 months ago

                Thank you for the additional details. I figured a 17 and 18 year old would be fine but beyond that it gets questionable IMO.

        • skulblaka@startrek.website
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          8 months ago

          As I understand it this is in place to prevent having to prosecute teenagers for having consensual sex. Which they’re going to do, illegal or not. But if they were one or both below the age of consent they would legally not be able to consent and this would be considered a rape, easily prosecutable by angry parents.

          It is genuinely good that it is this way.

    • Uranium3006@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      8 months ago

      that was the national age, just about everywhere had local laws with a higher age already on the books, I think tokyo was 17 or something like that