>>18218828On the other hand, even before the revision of the Penal Code, several laws made it illegal to engage in sexual acts with minors under the age of 18. For example, the Child Welfare Law (ja) of 1947 prohibits the act of "causing a person under the age of 18 to engage in indecent acts (ๆทซ่ก, inkล)," with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Under this law, a person who influences and encourages a minor to engage in indecent acts is punishable, even if the minor does so voluntarily.[89][90] An array of local ordinances adopted in all 47 Japanese prefectures, known as Seishลnen Hogo Ikusei Jลrei (้ๅฐๅนดไฟ่ญท่ฒๆๆกไพ; "Bylaws for Protecting and Nurturing Adolescents") forbid sexual acts judged "indecent" (ๆทซ่ก, inkล) between adolescents (defined as persons under 18) and adults;[91][92] 12 prefectures adopted such a bylaw in the 1950s, 19 in the 1960s, 13 in the 1970s, 2 in the 1980s, and the last (Nagano Prefecture) in 2016.[91] A 1985 decision of the Supreme Court of Japan held that the ordinances were not to be broadly interpreted as forbidding all sexual acts with adolescents, but only those "conducted by unfair means that take advantage of the juvenile's mental or physical immaturity, such as by enticing, threatening, deceiving, or confusing, as well as [acts] where the juvenile is treated merely as an object to satisfy one's own sexual desires."[93][92] The Supreme Court also ruled that sexual acts within "socially accepted norms", such as within marriage, engagement, or a "similar sincere relationship", were not "indecent".[93][91] As of 2004, about 1,000 offenses by adults are punished annually under these bylaws; a typical penalty is a ยฅ300,000 fine and a suspended sentence.[85]
