Good news for the LGBTQ + community in Asia: certificates for same-sex civil unions are available in Tokyo from November 1st. On 11 October the prefecture of the Japanese capital set up a register for the recognition of homosexual couples.
Registration is open to all adult citizens residing in the Tokyo metropolitan area, who, once obtained the certificate, will have the opportunity to live with their partner in the housing owned by the Municipality. Similar procedures are already in place in sixteen other prefectures, but according to activists, the application of certification systems in the capital, where nearly 14 million people (10% of the entire population of Japan) live, is a milestone for the community. Lgbtq + and for sexual minorities in the country.
“But the challenges remain – underlines Tokyo Shimbun -. The registration in the register does not recognize homosexual couples the same rights that marriage guarantees to heterosexual ones, for example access to subsidized tax treatments reserved for families or the possibility of appointing a partner as legal heir “.
Japan embraces a very conservative line on the theme of marriage and the recognition of the rainbow community, and is an expression of a deeply traditionalist culture. Nonetheless, according to the polls, for some time now the majority of public opinion has been in favor of extending full rights to homosexual couples as well, “but Japan is far behind on the issue, especially compared to other developed economies. It is the only G7 country that has not recognized any kind of civil union – writes the Japan Times -. A fact due to the hostility that many conservative politicians continue to show towards the LGBTQ + community ».
A poll last year by the newspaper Asahi revealed that 65% of respondents were in favor of same-sex marriage: in 2015, 41% were. However, the Conservative government remains very cautious about the possibility of legislative changes that recognize unions at the national level. Not to mention the actual marriage. Even the judgments of recent years are conflicting: in 2021 the Sapporo Court had ruled that the ban on marrying violates the right to equality guaranteed by the Constitution; but last June a court in Osaka had instead rejected the lawsuit brought by three homosexual couples against the state, establishing that the non-recognition of gay marriage is not contrary to the Charter.
The battle for rights has been waged in recent months by the governor of the Japanese capital, Yuriko Koike, who had presented a special bill in May. The document – which does not equate civil unions to marriage – will still allow couples access to some public services relating to housing, health, hospital visits to the hospitalized partner, or social assistance. Even children can be included in the registration of the couple.
“I hope that this will accelerate efforts to create a society in which the rights of sexual minorities can be protected,” Soyoka Yamamoto, a historic LGBTQ + activist, said at a press conference. “This system is a step towards same-sex marriage,” 74-year-old Takashi Otsuka, another historical exponent of the gay community, told the newspaper Asahi Shimbun.
The pioneer was in 2015 the district of Shibuya (right in the capital Tokyo): the first in Japan to offer such a certificate. Since then, more than 200 local governments have followed suit. The historic choice of Tokyo could be the signal to extend the rule throughout the country in the future, even if at the moment there are no plans by the central government in this regard.