Premium Content:

Japan: LGBT community takes steps towards marriage equality

Japanese_flag

Members of Japan’s LGBTIQ community have taken preliminary steps towards legal action and legislative change of discriminatory marriage law.

- Advertisement -

According to The Japan Times, 455 LGBT signatories have signed a petition which posits that Japan is denying human rights by not allowing same-sex marriage. The document was filed with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA), Japan’s largest bar association.

The document argues that the government is refusing LGBT Japanese people of their individual dignity, with reference to their constitutional right to equality.

Same-sex marriage is not technically illegal by Japanese law, however there is no current pathway to apply for a marriage licence for same-sex couples. Currently only the Shibuya region of Tokyo officially recognises same-sex relationships.

Japanese LGBT couples are still face many obstacles, not being able to name their partners in their legal will or combine health insurance. There are also no protections, such as spousal visas, in place for foreign same-sex partners of Japanese citizens.

Should the JFBA identify a breach of constitutional rights, the Japanese government will be officially warned.

JFBA lawyer Toshimasa Yamashita believes that while an official warning does not force the government’s hand, it will be an important reference point for all future cases on the issue of marriage equality.

Latest

Mariah Carey to headline the Fridayz Live tour

It'll be Mariah Carey's first Australian performances in eleven years.

Katie Noonan will celebrate Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’ album on a national tour

Her trip around Australia will begin in Perth this September.

Colton Ford, the adult film star turned singer, has died aged 62

Ford found fame later in life as an adult film star.

On This Gay Day | Actor Raymond Burr was born in 1917

He found success on TV playing Perry Mason and later Police Chief Ironside.

Newsletter

Don't miss

Mariah Carey to headline the Fridayz Live tour

It'll be Mariah Carey's first Australian performances in eleven years.

Katie Noonan will celebrate Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’ album on a national tour

Her trip around Australia will begin in Perth this September.

Colton Ford, the adult film star turned singer, has died aged 62

Ford found fame later in life as an adult film star.

On This Gay Day | Actor Raymond Burr was born in 1917

He found success on TV playing Perry Mason and later Police Chief Ironside.

New data shows Western Australians are increasingly stressed

Startling new data has been presented at the National Suicide Prevention Conference in Perth.

Mariah Carey to headline the Fridayz Live tour

It'll be Mariah Carey's first Australian performances in eleven years.

Katie Noonan will celebrate Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’ album on a national tour

Her trip around Australia will begin in Perth this September.

Colton Ford, the adult film star turned singer, has died aged 62

Ford found fame later in life as an adult film star.