Same-sex partnership systems are being introduced by an increasing number of Japanese prefectural and municipal governments, with local leaders hoping that progress in national discussions on related issues will continue. The debate follows discriminatory remarks against LGBTQ people by a recently dismissed secretary to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The human rights issues for sexual minorities are now being debated at the Diet, the country’s parliament.
According to a survey by Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward and Nijiiro Diversity, a nonprofit organization based in Osaka, the proportion of people in areas where same-sex partnership systems have been introduced as a percentage of the country’s total population reached 65% as of Jan. 10. Same-sex partnership systems allow couples of the same sex to be officially recognized by local governments as being equivalent to married couples and to obtain related certificates. These certificates make same-sex partners eligible for family-use public housing and visiting each other while receiving care at public hospitals.
Local governments that have introduced the systems are calling on private-sector institutions to give similar treatment to same-sex couples. In 2015, Tokyo’s Shibuya and Setagaya wards became the first local governments in the country to introduce such systems. Even if local governments make efforts to resolve issues for same-sex couples, legal hurdles remain, such as those related to spousal deductions and property inheritance.
Soichi Kataoka, mayor of the city of Soja in Okayama Prefecture said, “Local governments have worked hard to create an environment allowing LGBTQ people to come out. Ultimately, this is a question of whether to legally recognize same-sex marriage. I want the central government to advance discussions steadily.” Policies that value children and diversity are important, as some local governments are moving to introduce “familyship” systems that acknowledge same-sex partners’ relationships with children living with them, sources familiar with the matter said.
