Japanese man sues after being barred from his same-sex partner’s funeral

A 69-year-old Japanese man in Osaka is suing after being barred from his partner’s cremation and denied his inheritance. The men had been together since 1971 and had planned to give each other their assets after one of them passed. The partner’s sister stepped in and closed his businesses, automatically inherited his assets, and banned the man from going to his partner’s funeral.

The man is now suing the sister for 7 million yen in damages. “I am dissatisfied that I am not legally protected on the grounds that we were a same-sex couple,” he told the press.

While the sister’s lawyer maintained the 69-year-old had “absolutely no rights” regarding this issue.

The man’s lawyer lamented the lack of a unified same-sex civil union law across the Asian country: “‘There seems to be discrimination against gay people even before the legal hurdles… If a same-sex marriage system is established, it would not only ensure the rights of partners but also help resolve irrational discrimination.”

Tim Gibson - myGwork

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