Japan

[Rick]

Japan: 13 Couples Nationwide to File Marriage Equality Lawsuits on 14 February 2019

Originally ten, there will now be 13 couples filing damage suits against the state at four district courts across Japan on 14 February, arguing that denying same-sex couples the right to marry is a violation of their constitutional right to be treated equally under law. We have already highlighted two of the 13: the already-married (in Germany) international couple from Yokohama, and the couple from Sapporo, both of whom have already submitted their marriage certificate paperwork to the requisite city offices. Here are two more who will be suing:

Ryosuke Kunimi, 44, from the city of Obihiro in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, has been living with his partner since 2004. The two men say that they are "more family than partners," and that "together, they make one." A public school teacher, Kunimi is a pseudonym that he goes by as the man has for years supported other LGBT people and made safe havens for youth. He met his partner while participating in such activities.

Both sets of parents are accepting of their relationship. However, Japanese society does not allow same-sex couples to use various services that are available to married, opposite sex couples, such as those related to inheritance and loans. What frightened Kunimi recently (and prompted him to become a plaintiff suing the state) was a newspaper article reporting that a local general hospital was limiting entry to the inpatient ward to patients and their families as a countermeasure against the spread of infections.

Chizuka Oe, 58, and Yoko Ogawa, 55, who have been living together in Tokyo's Nakano Ward for more than 20 years, were the first couple to register under the Nakano Ward Partnership Oath certification program that started last year. But the certification does not guarantee the same rights as marriage, and only 11 municipal governments nationwide issue similar certificates. Oe and Ogawa believe they should have equal rights wherever they choose to live, and that prompted them to become plaintiffs in a damage suit against the state.

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: 13 Same-Sex Couples Have Duly Filed Their Lawsuits

Thirteen same-sex couples demanding marriage equality filed lawsuits against the government at district courts across Japan on Valentine's Day, 14 February 2019, arguing that the refusal to allow them to marry is unconstitutional and discriminatory.

Each of the 26 plaintiffs is seeking 1 million yen ($9,000) in compensation ($234,000 total), claiming that the government's failure to recognize same-sex marriage has caused them emotional distress in what their lawyers say is the country's first lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of such negligence. The damage suits were jointly filed by the couples who are in their 20s through their 50s, and include Japanese and foreign partners, at the district courts in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Sapporo.

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: First Court Hearings in Same-Sex Marriage Cases

On Monday, 15 April 2019, two courts in Japan, one in Tokyo and the other in Sapporo, began initial hearings in the first trials against Japan’s laws barring same-sex marriage. LGBT couples spoke about how discrimination has influenced their quality of life.

Thirteen same-sex couples filed suit against the Japanese government on 14 February 2019, claiming that the government does not recognize same-sex marriage despite homosexuality being legal in Japan. They argue that the issues surrounding same-sex marriage contradict Article 24 of constitution, which says “marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes.”

According to the couples, they often face legal difficulties as a result of their sexuality or because they are afraid of revealing it. Without marriage, same-sex couples are unable to help their partners in their time before death nor attend the funeral.

One of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, Shigenori Nakagawa, believes the trial could take up to five years before any decision is made. Each plaintiff is asking 1 million yen in compensation, and an additional 5 percent more for each year it takes to complete the cases, plus payment for the cost of the trials to be covered.

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: Opposition Parties Submit Same-Sex Marriage Bill

On Monday, 3 June 2019, Japan’s major opposition parties submitted a bill calling for same-sex marriage in the world’s third-biggest economy, a move that comes weeks after Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalize gay marriage.

The bill is unlikely to go far in parliament, where the conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party has barely budged to advance civil rights for LGBT people, even though business leaders have demanded change, saying current policies are hurting their ability to attract top global talent.

The bill from the Constitutional Democratic Party, Japanese Communist Party, and others states that marriage will be established on the basis of marriage equality. Neutral language will be adopted with the terms “party of marriage” used in place of “husband” and “wife,” while “father and mother” will be replaced by “parent.”

The Japanese public appears more tolerant than the LDP, which has controlled the government for all but four years since 1955. Homosexual relationships were long condoned among the samurai class and Buddhist monks before Japan’s mid-19th century modernization and adoption of “western” values.

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: First Prefecture to Recognize Same-Sex Civil Partnerships

Although the countrywide legalization of same-sex marriage remains a far-off reality in Japan, local governments are taking the lead in working toward greater equality for LGBT people, despite the lack of action at the national level.

Today, 24 June 2019, marked a new milestone in the progress of LGBT rights in Japan, as Ibaraki prefecture said that next month it will start issuing partnership certificates for gay and transgender couples, the first prefectural-level government in Japan to do so. It follows similar moves by 22 municipal governments, so far, beginning with the wards of Shibuya and Setagaya in Tokyo in 2015. In 2019 alone, 13 additional municipal governments have adopted the policy, including most recently, Kanuma city in Tochigi prefecture and Miyazaki city in the prefecture of the same name on Kyushu. Others will officially implement the policy in the coming weeks, including the city of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka prefecture.

Ibaraki was also the second prefecture, after Tokyo, to pass an ordinance to ban discrimination against sexual minorities when it did so earlier this year.

A same-sex partnership does not give couples the same rights as married couples, but it does allow partners to make medical decisions for a significant other and to live together in public housing.

Aya Kamikawa, a transgender assembly member for Tokyo’s Setagaya ward, tweeted that the move by Ibaraki was significant based on population size. Until now, the biggest area by population to issue same-sex partnership certificates was Osaka city, which has 2.7 million inhabitants; Ibaraki has almost 3 million, she said.

Note: Ibaraki prefecture is north of Tokyo and Chiba prefectures. In Tokyo prefecture, the sub-divisions are called wards, whereas in other parts of Japan, they are called cities/municipalities.

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: Gay Politician Wins Upper House Seat

A champion for the rights of LGBT people, Taiga Ishikawa was elected to the Upper House for the first time, winning a seat in the proportional representation system on 21 July 2019. Ishikawa, 45, who is openly gay, ran on the ticket of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ).

He has been campaigning on recognizing same-sex marriages, aiming for a society in which diversity is respected. “I was calling for the acknowledgement of LGBT people in the election,” Ishikawa said at his campaign office in Tokyo after winning an Upper House seat. “A lot of people all over Japan had the courage to vote for me. This acknowledges that we are here.”

His party is introducing a bill for eliminating discrimination against LGBT people, as well as a marriage equality bill. “I would like to do my best to enact both pieces of legislation,” Ishikawa said. “I want to support vulnerable people in this society as a politician.”

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan Federation of Bar Associations: Marriage Equality Ban Unconstitutional

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations demands that the government bring in marriage equality immediately, saying that the current ban is unconstitutional.

Lawyers in Japan have asked the government to swiftly legalize same-sex marriage, arguing that the current legal procedures go against the Constitution. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations submitted an opinion paper to the government on Thursday, 25 July 2019. It began compiling the document after a group of more than 450 people submitted a claim for human rights relief to the organization in 2015.

The lawyers say the current legislation, which does not recognize same-sex marriage, ignores the freedom of marriage and equality for all people stipulated in the Constitution. They say banning same-sex marriage is a serious violation of human rights.

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: Two New Marriage Equality Lawsuits

Married Bi-National US/Japanese Couple Seeks Recognition/Residency

An American in a same-sex marriage recognized in the United States plans to file a lawsuit to obtain a residence status that will allow him to continue living in Japan with his Japanese partner. Andrew High says his current status as a “temporary visitor” is unfair, given his situation, and prevents him from planning for the future with his partner. The two were legally married in the USA after 2015 and now live in Tokyo.

His lawsuit is also expected to highlight “absurdities” in the Japanese legal system concerning same-sex marriages. Under Japanese law, a foreign national in a heterosexual marriage to a Japanese national is granted spouse status upon entering Japan. However, foreign partners are ineligible for this status if they are in same-sex marriages, which the Japanese government does not recognize. High said that rule represents discrimination based on sexual orientation and violates the constitutional guarantee of equality under the law.

Another peculiarity of Japan’s immigration control law is that gay foreigners who have legally married and come from nations that both recognize same-sex marriages are often granted the residence status of “designated activities” when they enter Japan. High and his Japanese partner do not qualify for this status.


Fukuoka Couple Files Constitutional Challenge/Damages Suit

On 5 September 2019, in Fukuoka, a same-sex couple filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the Japanese government for the non-recognition of legal marriage between same-sex couples, which they argue is unconstitutional. Suits questioning the law's stance on same-sex marriages were filed simultaneously on 14 February 2019 by 13 same-sex couples, including bi-national couples, at four district courts, in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Sapporo. But this action, lodged at the Fukuoka District Court, is the first time such a case has been launched in the Kyushu and Yamaguchi areas of western Japan.

The couple behind the suit, Kosuke, 30, and Masahiro, 31, said, "We want to make same-sex marriage in Japan a reality, and reduce the number of people who will be concerned by these same issues in the future." Both plaintiffs are company employees, and they have refrained from releasing their surnames or the spelling of their names using kanji characters. They became a couple in May 2017, and the following month they started living together.

In July 2019, they attempted to file a marriage registration at a ward office in the city of Fukuoka, but they were told that a marriage application in which the relevant parties were both men was not legal, and their request was turned down. The Constitution of Japan guarantees freedom of marriage and equality under the law. Among its arguments, their suit maintains that the inability for same-sex couples to marry is unconstitutional and the National Diet has unreasonably neglected its legislative duty to enable them to marry. Both seek compensation of 1 million yen each for their mental suffering.

In April 2018, the Fukuoka Municipal Government introduced the "partnership oath system" that recognizes LGBT couples as partners, and the pair began using the system from June 2018. But it does not bestow the legal rights and obligations arising from marriage, nor does it allow for inheritance or joint ownership when taking out loans to buy a house, thereby blocking couples from advantages available to heterosexual couples.

Rick

 

 

[Rick]

Japan: Court Recognizes Same-Sex Common-Law Partnership in Lesbian Break-Up

On Wednesday, 18 September 2019, a court has awarded damages to a woman in her 30s who broke up with her same-sex partner because of infidelity, recognizing their common-law partnership despite same-sex marriage not being legal in the country. The Mooka branch of the Utsunomiya District Court in Tochigi Prefecture ordered the former partner to pay ¥1.1 million ($10,170) to the plaintiff, who was seeking damages of ¥6.3 million.

According to the suit, the plaintiff and defendant moved in together in 2010. After acquiring a marriage certificate in the United States in 2014, the couple held a wedding ceremony in Japan the following year. Soon afterward, the defendant revealed her desire to raise a child with the plaintiff and was artificially inseminated after finding a sperm donor on a social networking site.

However, the relationship between the couple broke down in January 2017 following the revelation that the defendant had had an affair with the sperm donor. The defendant subsequently gave birth, while the sperm donor went on to have gender reassignment surgery, and is now recognized as a woman.

The plaintiff had earlier bought a house for the couple to raise the child in, and also paid for the defendant’s artificial insemination. The plaintiff argued that same-sex partnerships should have the same legal protections that common-law marriages receive in Japan. Specifically, she said her relationship with the defendant deserved protection because the couple held a wedding ceremony and had been long-term domestic partners.

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: Yokohama to Issue Same-Sex Partnership Certificates

A major city just south of Tokyo is set to start issuing certificates to same-sex couples, recognizing their partnerships as equivalent to marriage. Yokohama City, which has a population of over 3.7 million, will launch the partnership system on Monday, 2 December 2019. An increasing number of local governments have established similar systems in recent years, with Daito (Osaka Prefecture) to follow on Wednesday, 4 December 2019.

Regardless of their genders on family registers (birth records), adult couples are eligible to apply for the certificates by submitting a written pledge recognizing each other as partners in life.

The certification is not legally valid, as Japanese law defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman, but officials say the city plans to allow certificate holders to receive the same public services as married couples, such as the eligibility to apply for city-run apartments. The city's system will also cover those whose gender identity is neither exclusively male nor female, as well as common-law couples.

Earlier this month, Kanagawa Prefecture started accepting applications for prefectural housing units from couples with certificates from municipalities within the prefecture. Yokohama is its prefectural capital.

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: Court Rules in Favor of Transgender Woman's Bathroom Use and against Required Surgery

In Japan, a transgender woman employed by the Economy, Trade, and Industry Ministry has successfully sued her employer for denying her the right to use the bathroom that aligns with her gender identity.

A Tokyo district court awarded ¥1.32 million in damages to the woman for being forced to use a bathroom other than the women’s bathroom on her office’s floor, which District Judge Kenji Ebara says is illegal because it “constrains people’s benefits of living their lives in accordance with their self-identified genders.” The ruling also requires that the ministry, and all employers, allow trans people to use the bathroom of their choice, without notifying anyone else of their transgender identity.

Ebara also made it illegal in his ruling for employers to require surgery from their employees in order to recognize their gender. This was in response to the fact that the Ministry official in charge of personnel told the woman that she should “go back” to being a man if she was not going to have reassignment surgery. Ebara made it known that he found it “unacceptable” and “extremely lacking in validity,” and that it was also an “abuse of discretion” to have the employee identify herself when using the bathroom with others inside.

Earlier in 2019, the Supreme Court of Japan had ruled that all people having gender reassignment must be sterilized prior to surgery, in addition to being unmarried, and having no children under the age of 20. Until now, surgical transitioning was the only way to have one's gender legally changed.

Rick

 

Edited December 17, 2019 by Rick

[Rick]

Japan: NGO to Begin Offering LGBT Partnership Certificates Nationwide

Per LGBT Marriage News:

A Japanese NGO will begin offering partnership certificates to LGBT couples nationwide, and 20 leading Japanese private-sector companies have already announced that they will recognize said certificates for company-provided benefits.
https://twitter.com/LGBTMarriage

Per Japan Times:

On Saturday, 25 April 2020, people familiar with the matter stated that from 1 July, about 20 companies in Japan will start accepting partnership certificates, issued to same-sex couples by a non-governmental organization, as a way of providing employees with spousal and familial benefits already available to straight, married couples. Mizuho Financial Group Inc. is among companies participating in the initiative, with certificates to be created by Famiee Project. The program is expected to raise awareness of the difficulties LGBT couples face in a country where same-sex marriage is not legally recognized. “We want to start changing where we can through the private sector, so that families of same-sex couples can be recognized as normal,” said Famiee founder Koki Uchiyama.

Meanwhile, local authorities have also started issuing partnership certificates in an attempt to smooth the path, as much as possible, for sexual minorities who face obstacles in gaining equal access to public housing or in making medical decisions for their partners. However, municipal partnership certificates are not legally binding and only apply to residents within their respective municipalities, leaving many lesbian and gay couples unable to offer proof of their relationship status. That leaves businesses struggling to verify the status of those without municipal certificates, even when company rules include benefits for same-sex couples.

Mizuho, for example, has offered spousal and familial benefits to employees in same-sex relationships since 2016, such as for family care leave and for monetary wedding gifts. But the firm has had difficulty providing the benefits to those unable to prove their relationship status.

The application and verification process for Famiee certificates is to be done digitally, with couples using a smartphone app provided by the NGO. Famiee then verifies the couple’s identity in much the same way a bank does when one is opening a bank account online. Couples must also show copies of their family registry to prove that they are both still legally “single.” Famiee hopes that the digital certificates can be successfully used by the network of partners it is building among large corporations and providers, a network currently comprised of insurance companies, banks, hospitals, and others that share its mission.

Rick

 

[Rick]

Okayama, Japan, to Issue Certificates Recognizing Same-Sex Partnerships

On Monday, 1 June 2020, the city of Okayama said it will issue certificates recognizing same-sex partnership, starting from 1 July, to couples living in or planning to move to the city. It will join nearly 50 other local governments in Japan issuing similar certificates to LGBT couples, and will offer benefits such as allowing them to apply for public housing. Same-sex marriage is not legally recognized and the certificates are not legally valid.

Okayama has also agreed with Soja, another city in Okayama Prefecture, to mutually recognize their certificates and eliminate the need for new procedures when LGBT couples move between the two cities. It has also reached a similar agreement with the city of Hiroshima and is considering one with the city of Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture.

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: Kyoto City Government Begins Offering Partnership Certificates

Adults living in this populous western city of Japan who are LGBTQ couples can now be publicly certified by the city government under the "partnership oath scheme." The program that started on 1 September 2020 allows couples to jointly proclaim that their significant other is their life partner, and in doing so, receive certification from the Kyoto Municipal Government. It has been adopted as part of an attempt to encourage understanding of sexual minorities, and to improve their ability to take part in society. It is the first time the scheme has been introduced in any of Kyoto Prefecture's municipalities.

On 1 September, the city's government office held a ceremony to issue the certificates, and Kyoto Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa handed them to five couples. Although the oath doesn't have any legal benefits, it does make the couples eligible for living in city-managed housing, and city employees are considering including people with certificates among those who can receive benefit payments. According to the municipal government, by the end of the first day, 20 couples had applied to be recognized under the scheme.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200902/p2a...

Kyoto, with 1.475 million residents, is Japan's 7th most populous city, and is now one of 55 municipalities/prefectures to offer such "Life Partnership" certificates to LGBT couples.

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: 5th Anniversary of Municipal Same-Sex Partnership Registration System

It has now been five years since the November 2015 launch of the partnership certificate system recognizing same-sex unions as equivalent to marriage in the Tokyo municipalities of Shibuya and Setagaya. A survey conducted by Shibuya and the non-profit organization Nijiiro Diversity showed that 59 local governments nationwide had introduced the partnership system by 30 September 2020 and that 1,301 couples had already applied for and had been issued such certificates.

In October 2020, the municipalities of Sakado, Saitama Prefecture, and Koganei, Tokyo, also introduced the system, followed in November by Tochigi in Tochigi Prefecture, Matsudo in Chiba Prefecture, and Kitamoto in Saitama Prefecture. This brought the total number of local governments using the system to 64.

In addition, 2 more municipalities are slated to follow suit in December, and 10 more intend to do the same by April 2021. Thus, in another 6 months, the total number using the system will have jumped to 76. A complete list of every municipality, and the number of same-sex couples already registered in each, can be found here, together with a map of Japan locating every jurisdiction (including two entire prefectures, Osaka and Ibaraki) to have adopted this same-sex partnership registration system:
https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00860/

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: Akashi City to Certify Same-Sex Couples, Children as ‘Family’

In January 2021, Akashi city, Hyogo Prefecture, will become the first local government in Japan to introduce a partnership system that treats the children of same-sex couples as “family,” city officials said on 10 December. The move is in response to calls from sexual minorities to recognize the family relationships between LGBT couples and their children.

While the planned system is not legally binding at the national level, it will allow same-sex couples in the city to change their relationships from “roommates” to “relatives” in their residence certificates, effectively recognizing them and their children as equivalent to a family, according to the city. Under the new partnership system, same-sex couples will be able to live in municipal housing and be buried together in municipal cemeteries.

To gain certification, the couple must both be of adult age, and at least one of them is required to live in the city or be scheduled to move there. The city will issue the couples with card-type certificates bearing their names. The names of their children can also be printed on the cards.

Rick

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by Rick

[Rick]

Japan: More Municipalities Issuing LGBT Partnership Certificates

A number of additional municipalities in Japan have begun issuing LGBT partnership certificates to couples during this current month, January 2021, including: Higashikagawa, Miura, Yoshinogawa, Hiroshima, and Akashi, while another 22 municipalities are scheduled to begin issuing them in the next several months.
https://twitter.com/LGBTMarriage/status/135311050...

There are 1719 municipalities in Japan, 812 of which are cities, and the remaining 907 being towns and villages. About 100 individual municipalities, most being cities with massive populations, now offer LGBT partnership certificates, as do 3 entire prefectures (of 47). The complete list, as compiled in November 2020, is here:
https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00860/

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: Court Rules that Denial of Marriage to Same-Sex Couples Is Unconstitutional

Per Freedom to Marry:

On 17 March 2021, a judge in Sapporo just ruled that the denial of marriage to same-sex couples is a violation of Japan's Constitution, the first-ever court ruling affirming the freedom to marry in Japan.

Congratulations to the "Marriage For All Japan" team, the plaintiff couples, and their supporters across Japan who have spoken out for the freedom to marry! This is a landmark victory that will help pave the way for an eventual national victory – and to encourage the National Diet to act!
https://twitter.com/freedomtomarry/status/1372011...

See also "Marriage For All Japan" here (in Japanese):
https://twitter.com/marriage4all_/status/13720098...

Per Lima Gay Net:

Un juez en Sapporo acaba de dictaminar que la negación del matrimonio a parejas del mismo sexo es una violación de la Constitución de Japón, ¡el primer fallo judicial que afirma la libertad de casarse en Japón!
https://twitter.com/LimaGayNet

A judge in Sapporo has just ruled that the denial of marriage to same-sex couples is a violation of the Constitution of Japan, the first court decision that affirms the freedom to marry in Japan!

Per Gay News Italy:

Giappone: Dichiarato incostituzionale il divieto di matrimonio tra persone dello stesso sesso.

https://twitter.com/GayNewsItaly

Japan: The ban on marriage between persons of the same sex declared unconstitutional.

 

Japan: Court Rules in Favor of Right to Same-Sex Marriage for First Time

A Japanese court has ruled that the lack of legal recognition for same-sex marriage violates the constitution, in the country’s first such judgment on marriage equality. The Sapporo District Court on the northern island of Hokkaido handed down the decision on Wednesday, 17 March 2021, Kyodo News said, in the first of a series of similar damage suits filed by same-sex couples in five separate courts around the country.

The three couples party to Wednesday’s case successfully argued that their rights had been breached because equality and freedom of marriage are enshrined in the constitution, public broadcaster NHK said. However, the Sapporo court rejected the plaintiffs’ demand for damages from the government, but said in its ruling that same-sex couples’ lack of access to some of the rights afforded to heterosexual couples amounted to discrimination.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/japan-court-...

 

Japan: Court Issues Landmark Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage Ban

Japón: Corte Emite Histórico Fallo sobre Prohibición de Matrimonio entre Personas del Mismo Sexo

La sentencia de un tribunal de distrito del 17 de marzo 2021, la primera en Japón sobre la legalidad de los matrimonios entre personas del mismo sexo, es una importante victoria simbólica en un país en el que la Constitución sigue definiendo el matrimonio como algo basado en "el consentimiento mutuo de ambos sexos."

Aunque será necesaria una nueva ley antes de que los matrimonios entre personas del mismo sexo puedan celebrarse, el abogado de los demandantes calificó la sentencia de "revolucionaria," mientras que los activistas LGBT la consideraron algo que cambiará sus vidas.
https://www.elmostrador.cl/noticias/multimedia/20...

The district court ruling of 17 March 2021, the first in Japan on the legality of same-sex marriages, is an important symbolic victory in a country where the Constitution continues to define marriage as based on "the mutual consent of both genders."

Although a new law will be necessary before marriages between same-sex couples can be celebrated, the attorney for the plaintiffs called the ruling "revolutionary," while LGBT activists considered it as something that will change their lives.

It should be noted that the gay press in countries like Perú, Chile, and Italy, countries also waiting for marriage equality, were quite quick to report about the court ruling in Japan. Shortly thereafter, said news was then also quickly reported in the general press in the same locales. "El Mostrador" is one of the leading newspapers in Chile. The court ruling in Japan also made headlines in Bolivia, Costa Rica (where they drew a brilliant parallel with their own CIDH court ruling), and the Dominican Republic.

 

Japan: Supreme Court Recognizes LGBT "De Facto" Partnerships

On the same date as the lower court ruling in Sapporo that the ban on marriage equality is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court of Japan ruled that LGBT couples can be recognized in law as having "common law" or "de facto" relationships:

Japan’s Supreme Court has upheld a high court ruling that same-sex couples in "de facto" marriages should be entitled to the same legally-protected benefits as those enjoyed by heterosexual couples in quasi-marriages. In a judgment dated Wednesday, 17 March 2021, the top court’s Second Petty Bench finalized the ruling by lower courts that ordered the former partner of the plaintiff to pay 1.1 million yen in damages after the couple broke up due to the former partner’s infidelity. It rejected an appeal by the former partner.

The Tokyo High Court ruled in March 2020 that both members of the same-sex couple should be given the same legal protection as in hetero quasi-marriage relationships when it came to the Civil Code. It is believed to be the first Supreme Court ruling to order damages on the basis of the recognition of same-sex couples as being in quasi-marriage relationships.
https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2021031900783/


The Supreme Court's decision upholding that ruling could have big consequences for other cases surrounding whether same-sex couples can be in common-law marriages, like this one, which is being appealed:

In a ruling on 4 June 2020, the Nagoya District Court did not recognize a gay couple as being in a common-law marriage, resulting in a man not receiving financial compensation from the state after his partner was murdered.
https://twitter.com/writerofscratch/status/126852...

Rick

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by Rick

[Rick]

Japan: More Prefectures/Municipalities Issuing LGBT Partnership Certificates

In the Tokyo Metro area, Saga prefecture has become the latest to recognize LGBT partnerships, the 5th such prefecture to do so out of a total of 43. Consultations are ongoing to expand the partnership recognition program to cover the entire metro region.

Plus, on 1 September 2021, partnership certificates for LGBT couples began being issued in five more municipalities throughout Japan: Miyoshi, Iruma, Nikko, Shintomi, and Ube. For the moment, that brings the total to 113. However, 10 additional municipalities have also announced plans to soon launch LGBT partnership certificates, as the concept continues to spread nationwide.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/bd8c3c8d6b11a32...

For the Tokyo Metro area, a prefecture is equivalent to a municipality in the rest of Japan.

 

Japan: Leading Candidate for Prime Minister Supports Marriage Equality

Vaccination minister Taro Kono is viewed by 48.6% of the members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party as being the most suitable to be party leader, and thus, to be Japan’s next prime minister, a Kyodo News poll showed on Saturday, 18 September 2021. Whoever wins the race will become Prime Minister, as the LDP-led coalition holds a majority in both chambers of the Diet.

Kono is running in the 29 September LDP presidential election to select the successor to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. He is vying with former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Sanae Takaichi, a former minister of internal affairs and communications, and Seiko Noda, the party’s executive acting secretary-general. Kishida was supported by 18.5%, Takaichi by 15.7%, and Noda by 3.3% in the two-day telephone survey conducted from Friday. (Presumably, 13.9% expressed no preference.)
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/09/18/nati...

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: Tokyo Governate to Extend Same-Sex Partnerships to all of Tokyo

Under plans announced by Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike on Tuesday, 7 December 2021, same-sex partnerships would be allowed throughout the entire Tokyo Governate from early next year and would be made legal in the fiscal year beginning from April 2022, vastly expanding the number of people in Japan who can benefit from it. In 2015, Tokyo's Shibuya ward was the first place in Japan to introduce the partnership system. The system already covers 41% of Japan's population and the extension to all of Tokyo (an area that includes 14 million people) means that well over half of the nation would be included.

The partnership system allows same-sex partners to register their relationship and gain some of the privileges enjoyed by married couples, such as being allowed to rent places to live together and gain hospital visitation rights. Although it falls short of a legal marriage, Tokyo's move to adopt the partnership system is seen as an important step towards legalizing same-sex unions in a nation where the Constitution still defines marriage as based on "the mutual consent of both sexes."

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/lgbtq-groups-cheer-tokyos-same-sex-partnership-move-huge-step-forward-2021-12-08/

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: More Prefectures/Municipalities Offering LGBT Partnership Registries/Certificates

Starting from 23 March 2022, Fukaya City is the latest municipality to introduce an LGBT partnership registry.

Then, from 1 April 2022, Akita Prefecture, Fukuoka Prefecture, and at least 27 additional municipalities will begin registering LGBT partnerships. In summary, throughout Japan, that will thus make 8 of the 47 prefectures, plus about another 176 municipalities, all offering the certificates.
https://twitter.com/LGBTMarriage/status/150629236...

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Enacts Same-Sex Partnership System

Tokyo (Metro) is home to 30% of Japan's entire population, and is the most-populous of the 11 prefectures (of 47) that now recognize same-sex couples' partnerships. All together, these 11 prefectures are home to more than 67 million people, that is, to more than 50% of Japan's population.

On 15 June 2022, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly enacted a bill to introduce a system aimed at recognizing same-sex partnerships involving sexual minorities as equivalent to that of married couples, allowing them to have the same access to family-use housing and the right to visit their partners in hospital. The revised ordinance will come into force from 1 November 2022.

Eligible for the system are partnerships between people aged 18 or over without spouses. At least one of them must be a sexual minority living in or commuting to Tokyo for work or school. Applications for same-sex partner certificates will be made online in principle. The certificates will include the names of children within the partnerships.
https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2022061500869/

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: Court in Osaka Rules that Ban on Same-Sex Marriage Is Constitutional

In a ruling issued on Monday, 20 June 2022, the Osaka District Court said that Japan’s ban on same-sex marriage was not unconstitutional. The case had been filed by three same-sex couples — two male, one female — and is only the second legal challenge to have yet been ruled upon in Japan.

In March 2021, the Sapporo District Court ruled that the Constitution of Japan does not ban same-sex couples from legally marrying and that it ensures them of a right to marry. Under current Japanese law, same-sex couples are banned from legally marrying, which means that partners cannot inherit each other’s assets upon death and have no parental rights over the other person’s child.

In this Sapporo case, "Nikkei Asia" reported that three couples — also two male and one female — tried to register their marriages in 2019, but local officials turned them away. The couples then sued and the court in Sapporo ruled that the government’s actions violated two provisions of the Japanese Constitution: Article 14 that ensures the right to equal treatment, and Article 24, which does not expressly deny the right of marriage to same-sex couples.

By contrast, Reuters reported that the Osaka District Court ruling stated that marriage was defined as being only between opposite genders and that not enough debate on same-sex marriage had taken place in Japanese society. “We emphasized in this case that we wanted same-sex couples to have access to the same things as regular couples,” said the lawyer for the couples, Akiyoshi Miwa, adding that they would appeal.

A third case, still upcoming in the Tokyo District Court, will keep public debate on the issue alive, particularly in the capital, where an opinion poll by the local government late last year found some 70 percent of people were in favor of marriage equality. A fourth lawsuit, filed with the Nagoya District Court, and a fifth case, filed with the Fukuoka District Court, are also both still pending. Furthermore, there also appears to have been a sixth case, still pending, filed with the Tokyo District Court.
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2022/06/20/distri...

Reference to the still-pending lawsuits #3, 4, 5, and 6 can be found in the post dated 10 September 2019.

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: Tokyo Court Rules on Residency for Same-Sex Couple

On 30 September 2022, a Tokyo court has ruled that it is unfair and unconstitutional for the government to deny residency status to a non-Japanese spouse in a same-sex marriage. The ruling came in a damages suit filed by an American man who was denied long-term residency to live in Japan with his Japanese partner. The couple married in 2015 in a US state where same-sex marriage is lawful. They later moved to Japan.

The Tokyo District Court ruled that the man should have been granted residency with a "specified activities" visa. The presiding judge said that such visas are already issued to same-sex couples consisting of two foreign nationals who legally marry in their home countries, and that not applying the same standard to a couple in which one spouse is Japanese denigrates the non-Japanese partner. He ruled that the government's handling of residency rules violated the constitutional principle of equality under the law.

The court, however, rejected the plaintiffs' claim for long-term residency status, saying he does not meet the necessary conditions. The judge explained that the man lacks the official status of a spouse in Japan, where same-sex marriage is not legally recognized.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220930_...

Rick

 

[Rick]

Japan: Tokyo Metro Government Issuing Partnership Certificates to Same-Sex Couples

On Tuesday, 1 November 2022, the Tokyo Metro government began issuing partnership certificates to same-sex couples who live and work in the capital (thus, said certificates are available for both residents and commuters), a long-awaited move in a country without marriage equality. The certificates allow LGBTQ partners to be treated as married couples for a range of public services in areas such as housing, healthcare, and welfare.

More than 200 smaller local authorities in Japan have already made similar moves to recognize same-sex partnerships, ever since the Shibuya district within Tokyo proper pioneered the system in 2015.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/huge-step-fo...

Rick