Korean Student Arrested in Japan for Alleged Sexual Harassment of Middle School Girl... "It Was Not Intentional"

Korean International Student Arrested Locally on Charges of Sexual Harassment of Middle School Girl

A Korean university student studying in Japan was arrested by local police on charges of sexually assaulting a minor.

Photo by Asia Economy DB

On the 9th, Sankei Shimbun reported that the Nogata Police of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested a Korean international student, Mr. A (23, male). Mr. A is suspected of sexually assaulting a female middle school student, Ms. B, for about an hour on January 26 at an apartment in Nakano-ku, Tokyo, where he was residing.

Ms. B is an acquaintance of a woman Mr. A was dating, and it is known that Mr. A committed the crime when his girlfriend and Ms. B visited his home. The crime was uncovered after Ms. B reported the sexual assault in February. During the police investigation, Mr. A stated, "I touched some parts of the body, but it was not intentional."

Meanwhile, Japan significantly revised its criminal law regarding sex crimes in 2023. The revised law integrates "forcible sexual intercourse" and "quasi-forcible sexual intercourse" into a single offense called "non-consensual sexual intercourse," specifying eight types of perpetrator actions and circumstances as conditions for punishment. Specifically, these include ▲violence and threats ▲consumption of alcohol or drugs ▲actions that leave no opportunity to refuse ▲influence through economic or social relationships, among others. This aims to strictly and accurately punish sex crimes. The legal "age of consent" recognized as capable of consenting to sexual activity was raised from 13 to 16 years old, and the statute of limitations for rape was extended from 10 to 15 years.