Talk:Stephanie Dola/@comment-26951020-20180226071825/@comment-80.168.174.168-20180724072205

To the other response, not quite. The legal age for sex in Japan is statutorily 13 (though other laws like "corruption of minors" makes it de facto 16).

For tobacco and alcohol, the minimum age is 20 years old.

Yes, people drink and smoke earlier than that, but we're talking legality here.

Regarding the age of consent law, Japan splits it into different offences. A statutory offence (sex with an under-13) is categorically rape. Sex with someone between 13 and 16 can be prosecuted as corruption of minors, or under "obscenity statutes", or - if someone under 16 is doing "compensated dating"/escorting and can be proven to have engaged in sex as the primary motivation then it will be prosecuted under prostitution laws, like solicitation.

On top of all this, there is a massive difference in the societal and cultural expectations of "being ready". Pretty much anyone who is found out to be having sex whilst still of school-age can find themselves risking expulsion, especially if doing compensated dating.

The truth of the matter is, the way it is actually handled in Japan isn't hugely different to how it is in the west. If the minimum age for sex is 16, like in the UK, and a 14 year old boy and 14 year old girl have sex, usually that won't be prosecuted despite both partners technically committing statutory rape, unless politicians are going on a tough-stance campaign. The same goes for Japan. Meanwhile, society as a whole will have a major issue with a 45 year old and a 14 year old doing such things together, just in the west it will be called "rape" and in Japan it will be called "corruption".