Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Japan may face legal challenges that non-LGBT residents do not.
An increasing number of people are realizing that their gender is different from the sex assigned at birth and are changing their gender in the family registry under the Gender Identity Disorder Special Act. In 2019, 948 people did so in Japan, a record number in history, and the total number since the entry into force of the law (2004) was 9625 people.
In 2004, the Gender Identity Disorder Special Act came into force, which allows people whose gender does not match their gender assigned at birth to change their gender in the family registry, and more people are officially changing their gender.
According to court statistics, in 2019, the family courts approved the possibility of changing the gender in the family registry in accordance with the law for 953 people who applied this year, in total, 1,010 people officially changed their gender during the year, including those who received this opportunity earlier. Concerning 959 people, decisions were made during 2019, 948 people received a document allowing them to change their registration gender, which is a record level.
The annual total number of people changing sex has been steadily increasing since 2004, when the law went into effect, except for 2018 when it dropped slightly. In 2004, there were only 97 of them, but in 10 years by 2014 it exceeded 800, and since then it has continued to grow moderately.
In 2019, a Japanese trans woman received a residence permit in Japan for the first time. According to the woman's lawyer, this permit is issued to foreigners who marry Japanese citizens. A 58-year-old transgender woman has lived illegally in Japan for 26 years.
In May 2016, she, along with her partner, tried to legalize her status and sign a same-sex partnership agreement. The attempt was not successful, because same-sex marriage is prohibited by Japanese law.
This year, on August 14, the woman received a long-term residence permit.
"If she was single, she would not have received this visa. But the government considered the reality of her relationship with a partner and not the legitimacy of her status on paper," said the lawyer.
The Law on Special Cases of Violating Gender Identity passed 15 years ago, requires transgender people in Japan to undergo invasive surgery, including sterilization.
In order to make changes to their documents, they must receive a diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder. To qualify, transgender people must be over 20, unmarried, and have no children under the age of 20.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Japan may face legal challenges that non-LGBT residents do not. Same-sex sexual activity was only criminalized for a short time in Japanese history between 1872 and 1880, after which a localized version of the Napoleonic Penal Code was adopted with an equal age of sexual consent.
Same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the legal protections available to opposite-sex couples, although as of 2015 some cities and prefectures offer symbolic "partnership certificates" to recognize same-sex couples' relationships. Japan is the only country in the G7 that does not legally recognize same-sex unions in any form.
In March 2021, a district court in Sapporo ruled that the non-recognition of same-sex marriage in the country is unconstitutional under the Japanese constitution, although the court's ruling does not have immediate legal effect.
References:
https://myladyboydate.com/blog/2020/08/what-is-a-newhalf
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1183745/japan-acceptance-transgender-individuals-workplace/
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
