As the Japanese Diet (Japan’s parliament) has ended its normal legislative session for the year with quite a bit of unfinished business, there will almost certainly be an extraordinary legislative session come fall. Of note, there are already reports as to what sorts of things lie in wait regarding trans Continue Reading
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Trans Woman Challenges Requirement to be Unmarried for Legal Transition in Japan
On 16 July 2024, a trans woman petitioned the Kyoto Family Court to allow her to legally transition while remaining married, making the case that the requirement to be unmarried is unconstitutional. A description of the case is available on Call4’s website here (Japanese/English) and a PDF of the petition Continue Reading
A Snag on the Way to Marriage Equality in Japan
Following WhatTheTrans’ earlier piece on same-sex marriage alternatives in Japan, a number of municipalities have either begun listing, or are considering listing, same-sex partners as common law spouses on locally maintained resident registries (details on this development can be read about in “In First, Gay Couple in Japan Wins Common Continue Reading
Japanese Courts Recognize Legal Rights of Post-Transition Parent
Imagine doing everything by the rules, but finding out there are even more rules that you weren’t even aware existed. Even worse, you find out that these rules keep you from being legally recognized as the parent of your children. What would you do? You’d very likely fight all the Continue Reading
Marriage Equality in Japan: What Alternatives Are There?
Following the March 14th Sapporo High Court decision finding Japan’s lack of marriage equality for same sex couples to be unconstitutional, the government reiterated that its position was unchanged: that the country’s lack of marriage equality was, as far as they were concerned, not an issue. This led the plaintiffs Continue Reading