TOKYO — A system to register same-sex partnerships opened for applications in Tokyo on Tuesday, in a symbolic step forward for a country that has fallen behind its peers on embracing diversity.
The system does not offer the legal benefits of marriage for same-sex couples but has been welcomed by LGBTQ rights groups as a small step forward. Japan is the only Group of Seven major democracy not to allow either same-sex marriage or civil unions — despite polls showing that the public is largely in favor of the change.
“The introduction of the system in Tokyo is extremely positive,” said Soshi Matsuoka, the head of Fair, an LGBT rights organization in Tokyo. “But partnership is not enough. We basically want legal marriage.”
With its own population aging and rapidly shrinking, the lack of such provisions could damage Japan’s ability to compete for talent against the dozens of countries that have legalized marriage equality, industry bodies have warned. Nonetheless, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the leader of the conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has urged caution on the issue.
The system is open to couples of whom at least one partner lives, works or studies in Tokyo, and where both are at least 18 and are not already married or in a partnership. Applications are to be made online, and certification will be available from Nov. 1, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government website.
While local government partnership certification systems have already been introduced by dozens of municipalities, Tokyo accounts for more than 10% of Japan’s 125 million population, and its policies have a bigger impact.
“In terms of deepening understanding and respecting LGBT rights, Tokyo is very influential, so this is a wonderful thing,” said Hiroshi Ikeda, a campaigner with Marriage For All Japan. He sees the partnership recognition system as a lever to press the central government for progress.
Same-sex couples often face exclusion from medical decision-making, difficulty in renting accommodation and lack inheritance rights. “In the end, there are a lot of things we won’t be able to do unless the central government changes laws,” he said.
While attitudes among the general public toward same-sex marriage have turned increasingly positive in recent years, some conservative politicians continue to show hostility to the idea. Noboru Watanabe, an LDP assemblyman in Aichi prefecture was forced to apologize earlier this month after an online post calling same-sex marriage “disgusting,” the Mainichi newspaper and other media reported.
Plaintiffs have met with mixed fortunes in a series of legal cases challenging Japan’s position not to recognize same-sex marriage. Last year three couples won a partial victory when the Sapporo District Court found that same-sex couples’ lack of access to some of the rights afforded by marriage amounted to discrimination. By contrast, an Osaka court ruled against marriage equality in a separate case in June.
Another case last month found that refusing residency rights to the U.S.-national same-sex spouse of a Japanese citizen was unconstitutional. The two had married in the U.S.
