Tokyo Passes Ordinance to Recognize Same-Sex Partnerships
- Certificates proving status to be issued from November
- Japan only G-7 nation yet to legally recognize same-sex unions
Two women hold their hands during the Pride parade on the streets of Tokyo.
Source: NurPhoto/Getty Images
Tokyo’s metropolitan assembly passed a bill on Wednesday to introduce a same-sex partnership system throughout the Japanese capital, expanding recognition of the LGBTQ community in the only Group of Seven nation that doesn’t afford them the right to get married or enter civil unions.
From mid-October, couples will be able to apply online for certificates to prove their partnership status, as long as either partner lives, works or studies in the capital. While Tokyo isn’t Japan’s first local government to introduce such a framework -- a handful of prefectures including Osaka and more than 100 municipalities already have one -- it’s by far the largest, accounting for more than 1/10 of the country’s population of 125 million.