Tokyo Will Allow Registered Partnership Of Same Sex Couples Since November, But With Different Rights Than Married Couples Have

Japanese capital city Tokyo will recognize partnership of persons of the same sex. AFP has reported on this based on an announcement of local  on Wednesday.

Japan is one of the 67 countries who does not recognize homosexual unions. It is stated in the constitution of this Asian country that "marriage may be entered into only with the agreement of both sexes."

However, in recent years, local representatives in Japan have taken steps to recognize non-heterosexual partherships, although they do not legally guarantee the same rights as for married couples.

„In the last two months, we have been gathering opinions of the public and we heard (from same-sex couples) that they want to be recognized as partners," said the speaker of Tokio municipality to AFP.

In June, local government plans to appeal to MPs for acceptance of changes of respective enactments. Bureaus want to start accepting applications for issue of official documents proving such partnerships in October.

The couples will be able to request apartments under the city's administration

Tokio is also considering providing more services to persons with said documents, which are currently only available to married couples, such as the option to request apartments which fall under the administration of the city.

A part of Tokyo - Shibuya - became the first area in Tokyo where they started issuing "partnership" certificates for homosexual couples in 2015. According to activists, such partnerships which guarantee, apart from other things, the right to visit a partner in the hospital or joint rental of real estate, is currently recognized in over 200 municipalities.

The court in South Japanese city Sapporo delivered a breakthrough verdict, according to which it is against the law that Japan does not recognize same-sex marriages. However, Prime minister Fumio Kishida is careful when it comes to any legislative changes in this area on a state-wide basis, says AFP. 

The island Taiwan is currently the only region in Asia which recognizes marriage between persons of the same sex, where this unprecedented step was accepted in 2019. This step led to the same rights for homosexual partners in marriage as for heterosexual married couples.