Sexual Harassment, Violence, and Consent: Japan in Cross-Cultural Perspective

Leader: Maiko Kodaka, m-kodaka-8d2@sophia.ac.jp

Participating Members

Internal ICC members:

David Slater, Dhslater@gmail.com
Megha Wadhwa, wadhwa.megha@gmail.com

iju Kim, iljukim@sophia.ac.jp

Dodom Kim, dodomkim@sophia.ac.jp

External members:

Azusa Saito, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Sophia University, az.saito0@gmail.com

Akiko Takeyama, Professor, the University of Kansas, takeyama@ku.edu

Machiko Osawa, Professor Emerita, Japan Women’s University, osawam75@yahoo.co.jp

Asato Ikeda, Associate Professor, Fordham University, aikeda@fordham.edu

Description

Recent reforms in Japan’s Penal Code have redefined rape as “non-consensual sexual intercourse” and raised the age of consent to 16. These legal changes mark a turning point, yet public understanding of consent remains fragmented and contested, shaped by deeply embedded social norms. This research unit investigates how sexual harassment, violence, and consent are understood, practiced, and contested in contemporary Japan and in cross-cultural perspective. We combine large-scale data analysis, qualitative interviews, and frontline practitioner research to map the changing terrain of consent. Our project builds on an unprecedented nationwide NHK survey of 38,000 respondents (2022), as well as collaborations with survivor-support NPOs in Japan, the U.S., and South Korea.

Through public programs, screenings, and workshops, we will bring research into conversation with communities, journalists, educators, and policy actors. Our team of anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, economists, and art historians integrates disciplinary perspectives to create a fuller picture of how gendered power dynamics structure both vulnerability and resistance. By developing open teaching materials, policy briefs, and accessible publications, we aim to foster informed public debate, strengthen professional and community capacity, and contribute to trauma-informed, survivor-centered support systems. Positioned at the intersection of academic research and public advocacy, this unit exemplifies ICC’s mission to connect scholarship with pressing social issues.

Relationship to Existing Projects & External Funding

This unit extends our ongoing collaboration on consent in sexual violence, first supported by SSRC/Abe (2024–25). In July 2025, we hosted a two-day bilingual symposium “Sexual Consent in Japan” with Fordham University at ICC, presenting analyses from the NHK-2022 dataset. We also ran ICC events (screenings of Company Retreat and Team Sonoko) which drew more than 150 participants and seeded current partnerships. External applications (USJF, Japan Foundation) are under review to support symposium travel, additional fieldwork/survey fielding, and open-access publication fees. ICC funds are catalytic, providing the bridge that enables translation-to-practice activities and sustained cross-national collaboration while larger grants are secured.

Research Aims and Objectives:

We seek two years of ICC funding (2025–2026). This period will consolidate outputs from our NHK data analysis, field interviews, and public programs.

Aim 1 — Map how “consent” is understood and practised in Japan post-reform:

Secondary analysis of the NHK 2022 dataset alongside targeted follow-up interviews (approx. 30 people) to trace continuity and change since the 2023 reform. In parallel, we will conduct policy tracking and advisory work, issuing two concise implementation briefs per year on the new provisions and related measures, identifying gaps between public understanding, institutional protocols, and frontline practice, and translating findings into actionable recommendations for ministries, educators, and NPO partners, culminating in policy advisory memos to inform the scheduled 2028 revision of the law on non-consensual sexual acts.

Aim 2 — Document frontline practice and co-produce interventions with NPOs:

Document frontline practice and co-produce interventions with NPOs by conducting semi-structured interviews with NPO practitioners, counselors, lawyers, and social workers, and by shadowing practice through 2 to 4 site-based mini-ethnographies of intake, referral, and trauma-informed protocols; leveraging established relationships with Nagomi (a Nagoya-based NPO serving survivors) and with Safe Horizon and Alliance in New York; and, in partnership with these organizations, co-designing and delivering three public programs per year (screenings, teach-ins, legal Q&A), each accompanied by brief pre/post surveys to assess knowledge gains and iteratively refine subsequent offerings.

Aim 3 — Build a cross-national comparative network (Japan–U.S.–South Korea):

Consortium: Formalise MOUs with 4–6 partner universities and NPOs. We will host a bilingual symposium and harmonise core instruments (interview guides, survey modules, ethics protocols) to enable comparable, cross-national outputs. Building on established ties with universities and survivor-support organisations in the United States and South Korea that focus on sexual violence, we will expand the consortium to include additional partners across the Asia–Pacific.

Aim 4 — Translate research into open teaching, media, and policy resources:

Open-access teaching pack and publications; We will release a modular teaching pack (slides, case vignettes, short videos, curated reading lists) in Japanese and English; deliver the special issue of The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus and a Japanese-language book; and submit additional peer-reviewed articles.

Together, these outputs will sustain an informed public conversation and equip educators, journalists, and service providers with actionable, evidence-based insights. We will assess impact through participant surveys, media uptake and altmetric indicators, course adoptions, NPO-partner feedback, and policy citations. External grants, e.g., USJF and the Japan Foundation, to which we are currently applying, will underwrite survey fielding, travel, and open-access publication fees.

Methodology, 24-Month Workplan, and Research Outcomes

Design and Approach:
A mixed-methods design combining interviews, data analysis, policy tracking, and cross-national collaboration. Co-production is sequenced in three phases:

1. Secondary analysis of the NHK-2022 dataset.

2. Qualitative follow-up with publics and practitioners.

3. Translation to practice through NPO partnerships, public programs, policy briefs, and open teaching materials.

All events and logistics will be coordinated through ICC under Maiko Kodaka’s leadership.

WP1. Secondary analysis of NHK-2022 (M1–M6)
Reconstruct variables; produce reproducible code (JP/EN); run multilevel models by setting (family, workplace, and romantic relationships). MAXQDA will be used to decode frequent words and emotional codes, generating sampling frames and vignettes for WP2.
Outputs: methods note, short paper, sampling frames & vignettes for WP2.

WP2. Follow-up interviews on consent (M3–M14)
Purposeful sample (≈30). Semi-structured interviews on consent comprehension, boundary cases, and help-seeking. Preliminary data already available from our post-event survey.
Leads: David Slater (Japan); Akiko Takeyama (remote + U.S. NPOs).
Outputs: bilingual codebook; interim memo feeding WP4/5.

WP3. Frontline practice: practitioner interviews & mini-ethnographies (M4–M18)

Interviews (≈20) + 2–4 site-based minis (intake, referral, trauma-informed protocols). Partnerships initiated with Nagomi (Nagoya), Safe Horizon, and Alliance (New York).
Leads: Maiko Kodaka, David Slater, Machiko Osawa (Japan); Akiko Takeyama, Asato Ikeda (U.S./remote). Rapid analysis sessions to shape event content.

WP4. Co-designed public programs & evaluation (M5–M21)
With NPO partners, deliver three programs per year (screenings, teach-ins, legal Q&A). Pre/post micro-surveys and 4–6 week follow-ups for evaluation.
Lead: ICC members.

WP5. Policy tracking & engagement (M1–M24)
Track 2023 reform implementation and related measures; produce two briefs per year (JP/EN). Leads: Machiko Osawa, Azusa Saito (policy channels); Akiko Takeyama, Asato Ikeda (U.S. comparators).

WP6. Cross-national network & harmonization (M2–M24)
MOUs with 4–6 JP/US/KR partners; harmonize core instruments; annual bilingual symposium focusing on the cross-cultural examination of sexual violence and survivor support systems.

WP7. Translation to open resources & publications (M6–M24)
Develop an open-access teaching pack (slides, vignettes, short videos; JP/EN).
Target publications: Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus special issue, Japanese-language book, and ≥3 peer-reviewed articles.

Roles of ICC Members:

David Slater: Leads follow-up interviews (WP2), co-coordinates practitioner engagement and analysis.
Megha Wadhwa: Brings migrant/minority expertise; occasional input on interview frames; helps convene/host ICC events.
Iiju Kim: Periodic feedback on family/gender framing; helps convene/host ICC events.

Dodom Kim: Guidance on outreach and audience engagement; assists with ICC event promotion/logistics.

Research Outcomes:

This project will generate both scholarly and public-facing outcomes. Academic outputs include reproducible methods and datasets, an open bilingual codebook, peer-reviewed articles, and a special issue. Policy outputs include evidence-based briefs on the implementation of consent reforms, co-authored with practitioner and policy partners. Public and pedagogical outputs include bilingual teaching resources, screenings, and community programs, providing tools for educators, journalists, and service providers. Together, these outcomes will foster informed debate, support practice on the ground, and strengthen cross-national collaboration in addressing sexual violence.

Images (Top to bottom):

From Cottonbro Studio via Pexels

From a film "Team Sonoko"

Image generated for the symposium Sexual Consent in Japan