Newer Laws That Could Had Possibly Saved Junko Feruta
On August 23, 2013 Japan’s legislature, at the end of its regular session in late June 2013 passed legislation to revise the country’s anti-domestic violence law and the anti-stalking control law. Before the revisions were adopted, there were cases of violence against women that neither law could adequately cover, in particular, murders that had taken place that might have been prevented if the police had had the authority to interfere and stop the aggressors, based on law.
I cannot help but wonder if these newly adopted laws could had made some protective difference in the murder of Junko Furuta in 1989. Surprisingly, Japan and the United States are the only 2 industrialized democratic nations in the world that continue to execute criminals. How did these four Japenese men convicted of one of the most abusive and torturous crimes in Japan’s recent memory, get away with barely a slap on the wrist?
As we delve deeper into this story on our podcast, we will discuss the loopholes that left a gap so wide, a young girl lost her life through insidious acts and rape. I truly believe if these crimes were commited after Japan adopted stricter laws for domestic violence, the consequences of such acts would be far more severe. I feel that Junko could had fallen into the category of “domestic violence” as her captures kept her living in the home in the portrayl of a “fake” relationship. Tune in to hear the rest of this story..
Ellie Cheryl
Side Note: The revised anti-domestic violence law covers violence committed by a boyfriend or girlfriend who shares the same living space with the victim; the law allows victims to file a petition with the court for issuance of a restraining order. (Act on the Prevention of Spousal Violence and the Protection of Victims, Act No. 31 of 2001, as amended byAct No. 72 of 2013; English translation of the Act before revision, Ministry of Justice website.) The current law provides for protection of victims who are spouses, de facto spouses, or ex-spouses of the aggressor. When the amendment becomes effective in January 2014 (Provisions attached to Act No. 72 of 2013, art. 1), victims of domestic violence who are not spouses, de facto spouses, or ex-spouses can obtain assistance from public Domestic Violence Support Centers. (Act. No. 31.)
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