Tokyo To Recognize Same-Sex Partnerships In Huge Step Towards Equality
Tokyo will soon recognize same-sex partnerships, making it the largest Japanese city to do so.
The reforms will come into effect from April 2022, though it remains unclear if it will give gay couples the same rights that married couples get in the country.
The city’s governor, Yuriko Koike, explained that Tokyo would implement a system that would recognize gay partnerships as equal to marriage after the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly unanimously agreed that it was time for recognition.
On 7 December, Koike said: “In response to the wishes of Tokyo residents and those concerned by this issue, we will draft a basic principle to recognize same-sex partnerships this fiscal year.”
As Gay Times writes, pressure on Japan’s national government has been growing in recent years as it continues to be the only G7 nation to not legally recognize same-sex marriage.
Despite this, more than 100 local authorities in the country do recognize certain rights for gay couples, such as joint names on rental contracts.
A survey by public broadcaster NHK showed 57% of people approved of gay marriage being legalized.
Although more details are yet to be announced, LGBTQ+ campaigners in the region have criticized the move for not giving “the same legal effect as marriage.”
In a Twitter thread on 7 December, activist group Marriage for All Japan wrote: “However, the partnership system does not have the same legal effect as marriage. The government should hurry up and legalize marriage nationally!”
A number of MPs in Japan’s socially conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party have been homophobic and expressed a lack of support for gay marriage, which has been seen as a key factor in it not yet being legalized there.
In addition, Japan’s constitution says: “Marriage shall be only with the mutual consent of both sexes.”
It is yet to be amended since its introduction after the Second World War in 1947 and remains the oldest unamended constitution of any nation.
Masa Yanagisawa, a board member of Marriage for All Japan, said: “Some conservatives have voiced concerns that even though these partnerships are just symbolic pieces of paper, they could undermine Japanese traditions or the traditional Japanese family system. Hopefully this will be a chance to prove otherwise.”
Read related myGwork articles here:
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LGBTQ+ Groups Hope Japan PM Race May Lead To Same-Sex Marriages
LGBT+ Activists Rally For Equal Rights In Tokyo Ahead Of Olympic Games
Japan’s Archaic Ban On Same-Sex Marriage Is “Unconstitutional”, Court Rules
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