New law targets voyeurism and ‘upskirt photography’ in Japan

Issued on: 11/05/2023 – 13:06

In Japan, public transportation can be a minefield for women. In crowded trains, corridors or escalators, they may come across “chikan”, a Japanese word that describes men who inappropriately touch women in public transportation or try to take pictures under women’s skirts without consent, also known as “upskirting”. 

The bill targeting this type of “photographic voyeurism” would penalise those who take and disseminate sexual images taken without consent, including those taken by chikan.

The law is part of a series of measures against sexual violence, including broadening the definition of rape and penalising “grooming”, where an adult establishes a rapport with a minor in order to exploit them for sexual favours or photographs, a phenomenon which mainly occurs online. 

>> Read more on The Observers: Japan’s ‘chikan’: An illustrated look at how sexual harassers grope women on trains

‘The victims are often young girls in school uniforms’

In a country where young girls are often sexualised in the media, some of the victims of sexual harassment in Japan are just teenagers, according to our Observer Maki Abe, who founded an association to raise awareness of sexual violence against young people. She has worked for more than 20 years to combat sexual violence against minors. 

The way women are sexualised in Japan is very problematic. You can see it in manga, anime, but also images all over the city: the covers of magazines in convenience stores. We are exposed all the time, even children.

Many people commute to work or school by tain, and they are extremely crowded. We have to take them.

‘Chikan’ occurs very often in trains. The victims are often young girls in school uniforms.

In 2018, about 3,000 cases were reported [Editor’s note: and 5,000 in 2021], but that is definitely less than 1% because many people don’t go to the police or file a report.

‘The biggest problem is that the victim is blamed’

The phenomenon has occurred for years in Japan, to the extent that some trains even have a car reserved for women during rush hour. Until now, only local laws, which vary from region to region, penalise sexual harassment and photo voyeurism on public transportation.

Maki Abe is cautiously optimistic about the new law. 

At first I thought this law was a very big step forward. We are talking about changing a penal code that is more than 100 years old [Editor’s note: Japan’s penal code was adopted in 1907]. But there are so many challenges, like the fact that many women don’t report.

In my opinion, the biggest problem is that the victim is blamed. They say, ‘It’s your fault, why would you dress in such a short skirt or walk like that? It’s your fault.’

In all the train stations in Japan, there are posters like this one to warn women about ‘chikan’. But the message is often, like on this picture I took: ‘You have to be careful’, ‘You have to watch out behind you’.

Maki Abe believes the key to solving the problem lies in sexual education.  

Sexual education in Japan is very behind. Students don’t have enough education, especially on sexual consent. 

And Japan is very behind on preventing sexual abuse, so in the law system and prevention education, they don’t have the correct information. Even if girls are able to speak up, if the person who is listening doesn’t have the right knowledge, the case will not be treated by the police or the teacher. 

It’s getting better little by little, but we are still behind compared to Europe or the US. 

I want to promote an education that says ‘It’s not your fault’. We need preventative education and a counselling system to accept more reports and create a support system.

The bill calls for prison sentences of up to three years or a fine of up to 3 million yen (about 20,000 euros) for sexual harassment and photo voyeurism.