Japan in the Golden Age of Consent (w/Dr. Alexandra Hambleton)

Japan By River Cruise

A 50-yr-old Japanese lawmaker says it would be "absurd" if he got arrested for sleeping with a 14-yr-old. The fascinating, funny Dr. Alexandra Hambleton talks about the issues surrounding this story, and also demonstrates how to deny consent when she refuses to let us scan her zairyuu card.

Ollie continues to be British.

Bobby continues to think way too highly of his parenting abilities.

Topics discussed on this episode range from:

• What every father really wants for father's day
• We finally find out how to pronounce BRIAN
• How the response to our tweets this week was really clearly split between followers in Japan, and followers who aren't
• The Zairyuu Card authentication app, and the mixed reactions to it
• The reasons why we're uncomfortable with the ways people might use the app, and how it could be exploited
• What a police officer claimed when he stopped Alex to check her zairyuu card
• When Ollie took a stand against a hotel that demanded to see his card
• The potential for this app to give ordinary Japanese citizens the power to become immigration officers
• Our 88th episode! (and how you can help us celebrate it)
• Where to go to find out what happened to all of the loose threads in Ollie's life in Malaysia
• Representative Honda Hiranao's public apology for his statements, and what those statements where
• What Alex thinks this says about Japanese society/government at large
• What struck Kawakami Mieko most about said comments
• What DEFINES a sexual offense
• Ollie's legal opinion about why sometimes, individual consent doesn't supercede law
• What is the actual age of consent in Japan, and how does it work
• Can you give consent to sex when you're 13?
• The difference between 14-year-olds having sex and 14-year-olds having sex... with adults
• The MOST REMARKABLE THING about Honda's comments
• The pros and cons of confidence
• What the meeting that Honda messed up with his comments was actually about
• A short summary of recent revisions and developments in sexual assault laws and why Japan still has a lot of work to do
• How consent is dependent on "the nature and the purpose of the act"
• The two-headed approach Japan needs to take to see real feminist change in Japan
• How people are socialized around the question of consent in Japan?
• Why Japan has trouble introducing progressive sex ed curriculums
• What happens when young people don't have access to sex ed
• How media representation of Japanese women in porn and elsewhere could be improved
• Why it's so important to have, first, ANY REPRESENTATION of female sexual pleasure in media, and secondly, diverse representation of female sexual pleasure
• How concerned Bobby is about this, as a man who owns two daughters

Alex is a charming, hilarious, super knowledgable guest, and we can't wait to have her back! In the meantime, hear what she had to say in the the extras by supporting the podcast for less than $1 an episode. Just become a member at http://buymeacoffee.com.

Topics Discussed on the Extras:

• Why Alex wants to have her students do online-media based theses
• The article she wrote about one of Japan's biggest soft-core porn stars turned TV personality Dan Mitsu
• How Bobby became a HUGE Dan Mitsu fan
• Why Alex thinks Dan Mitsu is one of the few examples of a woman who turns the male gaze to her advantage, and what happens to the ones who aren't so savvy
• Ollie's experience with something statutorial

Have something you'd like to say? Send us a fax at japanbyrivercruise.com

or Tweet to us at @jbrcpod

Alex's Scholarly Work
Male Gaze: Dan Mitsu

Social Media Links:

Dr. Alexandra Hambleton: Twitter | Elements of Japan Nonnative Creative

Ollie Horn: Twitter | Instagram

Bobby Judo: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

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