Tokyo, Japan CNN —When Kaneko Miyuki reported her sexual assault as a seven-year-old in Japan, she remembers the police laughing at her. Kaneko is among countless Japanese women who say their experiences of sexual assault and abuse were ignored because they “didn’t fit the criteria” of a victim. The previous age of consent, at 13, had been among the lowest in the developed world. It marks a major victory for sexual assault survivors and activists, some of whom have spent decades lobbying for these changes. “Survivors of sexual assault like myself cannot even work, or go about your life – you become mentally ill, and you can’t take care of yourself,” she said.

---

Persons: Japan CNN —, Kaneko Miyuki, “, ”, Kaneko, didn’t, Yuu, Nakayama Junko, “ It’s, It’s, it’s, –, Alessandro Di Ciommo, ” Nakayama, Nakayama, Tadokoro Organizations: Japan CNN, Spring, General, NHK, voyeurism, Reuters, CNN, Authorities Locations: Tokyo, Japan, United Kingdom, Finland, Norway, Nagoya, Fukuoka, “