TOKYO (AP) ? Japan's parliament on Friday raised the age of sexual consent to 16 from 13, a limit which had remained unchanged for more than a century and was among the world's lowest, amid calls for greater protection of children and women. The revision was part of a revamping of laws related to sex crimes.

As of 2026, the national age of consent in Japan is 16. This represents a significant change from the previous law, where the national age was set at 13 (one of the lowest in the developed world) until a major reform was passed in June 2023. This legislation was part of a broader overhaul of Japan's sex crime laws, which also redefined rape and criminalized the grooming of minors. It is important to note that even before this national change, many of Japan's individual prefectures had their own "Youth Protection Ordinances" that effectively raised the age to 16 or 18 in those specific regions. Under the current national law, sexual activity with anyone under 16 is considered statutory rape, though there is an exception for couples who are both minors and within a three-year age gap of each other if both are at least 13 years old.