Tokyo to recognise same-sex partnerships, as activists in Japan push for greater LGBT rights
- Governor Yuriko Koike said the Japanese capital will draft a basic principle to recognise such unions by the end of March
- Japan is the only G7 country not to recognise same-sex marriage, with the ruling LDP reluctant to enact reforms despite opinion polls in favour of recognition
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Tokyo will move to recognise same-sex partnerships, its governor said, becoming the largest city in Japan to do so, as activists push for national recognition.
But in recent years, local authorities across the country have made their own moves to recognise same-sex partnerships, and activists have filed lawsuits hoping to push the national government to reverse course.
“In response to the wishes of Tokyo residents and those concerned by this issue, we will draft a basic principle to recognise same-sex partnerships this financial year,” Governor Yuriko Koike announced late on Tuesday.
She added that the city planned to introduce the policy by the end of the following financial year, ending March 2023.
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Activist group Marriage for All Japan welcomed the news in a tweet but noted “partnership doesn’t have the same legal effects as marriage”.
“National government, hurry up on [recognising same-sex] marriage!” they added.
Tokyo’s Shibuya district in 2015 became the first place in Japan to begin issuing symbolic “partnership” certificates to same-sex couples.
Many areas have followed suit, with activists saying 110 local governments now recognise same-sex partnerships, granting couples rights including the ability to visit a partner in hospital and rent property together.
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But not all LGBT couples in Japan live in areas with such certificates – and even those who have them find they are sometimes not recognised.
Last year, more than a dozen couples filed lawsuits across Japan challenging the constitutionality of the government not recognising gay marriage.
In a landmark ruling in March this year, a court in northern Sapporo said Japan’s failure to recognise same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, in a verdict hailed by campaigners as a major victory.
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Opinion polls have generally found a majority in Japan back recognition of same-sex marriage, but the conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been reluctant to push ahead with reforms.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been cautious on social hot-button issues and said during his party’s leadership race this year that he had “not reached the point of accepting same-sex marriage”.
