Japan

Global News

Added on: 06/17/2019

Fighting For Recognition in Japan

06/16/2019

When 13 LGBTQ couples sued the Japanese government earlier this year, arguing for legal recognition of same-sex marriage, it made headlines around the world as a historic…

Global News

Added on: 06/14/2019

Reverence for tradition threatens same-sex marriage in Japan

06/13/2019

As Japanese lawmakers grapple with a landmark same-sex marriage bill, campaigners fear it may die at the first legislative hurdle as lawmakers pander to aging voters and…

Global News

Added on: 06/04/2019

Japan Opposition Parties Submit Same-Sex Marriage Bill

06/03/20219

Japan’s major opposition parties submitted a bill Monday calling for same-sex marriage in the world’s third-biggest economy, a move that comes weeks after Taiwan became the first…

Global News

Added on: 05/12/2019

LGBT Partnership Systems Spread Across Japan

05/09/2019

In the first five months of 2019 alone, the number of Japanese municipalities with a “partnership system” recognizing same-sex relationships has doubled. While Japan’s national government has…

Global News

Added on: 05/05/2019

Are isolated LGBTI Japanese finally about to step out of the closet?

05/04/2019

Tomoyuki Oishi is probably the only LGBTI person living in his small village in Nagano prefecture, Japan. ‘I like the village, but it feels very cramped’ the…

Global News

Added on: 05/01/2019

With spirits high, the LGBT community and supporters marks Tokyo’s 25th pride march

04/28/2019

With rainbow flags flying high and colorful signboards vividly displayed under a clear blue sky, thousands of members of the LGBT community and their supporters took to…

Global News

Added on: 04/24/2019

How a gay student’s suicide after being outed is helping Japan’s LGBT community speak up

04/22/2019

The name of a gay student who died after being outed may remain known to only a small number of people – his immediate family, friends, classmates,…

Global News

Added on: 04/20/2019

Trans weddings in Japan: forced surgery before ‘I do’

04/17/2019

For Tacaquito Usui to marry his partner, Japanese law first requires him to undergo sterilisation surgery and be diagnosed with a mental disorder because he is transgender….

Global News

Added on: 04/17/2019

LGBT couples speak of their suffering in lawsuit seeking marriage for all in Japan

04/15/2019

In the first oral argument of an unprecedented trial challenging the constitutionality of Japan’s same-sex marriage ban, LGBT couples spoke Monday of their experiences, aiming to highlight…

Global News

Added on: 04/12/2019

Alarm bells sound over ‘outings’ in Japan’s LGBT community

04/12/2019

People having their sexual orientation or gender identity revealed without their consent has become a deepening problem in Japan, a country known for its culture in which…

Global News

Added on: 04/10/2019

Japan’s first transgender prefectural assembly member elected in Hokkaido

04/09/2019

Japan’s first transgender prefectural assembly member has been elected in local elections here on April 7. The new member, Ayako Fuchigami, was designated male at birth and…

Global News

Added on: 03/29/2019

Japanese footballer comes out as gay and encourages others to do the same before Tokyo 2020

03/25/2019

Female Japanese footballer Shiho Shimoyamada has come out as gay and has encouraged other athletes to do the same before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The 24-year…

Global News

Added on: 03/28/2019

First LGBT-inclusive textbooks for elementary schools in Japan

03/28/2019

Publishers of elementary school textbooks in Japan have included LGBT information in the latest editions of their books. Two out of five government-accredited publishers have included content…

Global News

Added on: 03/24/2019

Tomomi Inada’s uphill battle to ‘promote understanding’ of LGBT issues in Japan

03/21/2019

Tomomi Inada isn’t trying to get Japan to legalize same-sex marriage or ban discrimination against gay citizens. The conservative lawmaker just wants to “promote understanding” of LGBT…

Global News

Added on: 03/22/2019

Justice Ministry overturns deportation order for gay Taiwanese man without visa

03/22/201

In a rare move, the Justice Ministry has revoked a deportation order for a gay Taiwanese man who remained in Japan illegally after overstaying his visa, apparently…

Global News

Added on: 03/21/2019

Japan Urged to Stop Requiring Transgender People to be Sterilised

03/20/2019

Human Rights Watch has urged Japan to drop its requirement that transgender people be sterilised to have their gender changed on official documents. A 2004 law says people…

Global News

Added on: 03/15/2019

Nearly half of LGBT graduates in Japan report having uncomfortable experiences in job interviews

03/13/2019

Over 40 percent of lesbian, gay and bisexual students and over 80 percent of transgender students in Japan had uncomfortable experiences during job interviews, a survey by…

Global News

Added on: 03/05/2019

Runners support LGBT rights at Tokyo Rainbow Marathon

03/03/2019

Hundreds of people joined a charity run to promote awareness about diverse sexuality and to support sexual minorities under a bright blue sky in Tokyo on March…

Global News

Added on: 02/16/2019

Gender-neutral Canadian activist shows solidarity with Japan’s LGBT communities

02/14/2019

Gemma Hickey entered Japan this week with something no Japanese national can obtain a gender-neutral passport in which the gender category shows neither female nor male, but…

Global News

Added on: 02/15/2019

Same sex couples seek marriage rights in Valentine’s lawsuit

02/13/2019

Chizuka Oe and Yoko Ogawa have been together for 25 years, but when they submitted their marriage registration at a Tokyo town hall, they knew it would…

Global News

Added on: 02/14/2019

Japan Launches First LGBTI Safe House

02/12/2019

Japan opened its first LGBTI safe house in Tokyo this week. Nijiiro House supports LGBTI people who have fallen into homelessness due to their sexuality or gender…

Global News

Added on: 02/12/2019

“This Is Me”: Nippon Television’s Tanio Toshimi on Being True to Oneself

02/08/2019

Transgender commentator Tanio Toshimi debuted on News Zero around the time that Diet member Sugita Mio made headlines for describing the LGBT community as childless and “unproductive.” While LGBT…

Global News

Added on: 01/31/2019

Chiba 1st Japanese City to Recognize LGBTI Couples, Common-law Marriage

01/29/2019

In a first for Japan, the city of Chiba held a ceremony Tuesday to issue certificates recognizing both the partnerships of sexual minority and common-law couples. “I…

Global News

Added on: 01/28/2019

Whether it’s a bar in Shinjuku or over a dating app with someone in Osaka, words matter when talking about LGBT topics

01/28/2019

A recent survey by advertising giant Dentsu revealed that roughly 1 out of 11 people in Japan identify as レズビアン, ゲイ, バイセクシュアル, トランスジェンダー (rezubian, gei, baisekushuaru, toransujendā,…

Global News

Added on: 01/25/2019

Japan Supreme Court: Trans people must be sterilized before gender change

01/24/2019

The Supreme Court of Japan published a ruling on Thursday (24 January) upholding a law that requires transgender people to be sterilized before changing their gender on official documents. Japan’s law in question…

Global News

Added on: 01/19/2019

Gay couple to join Japan legal challenge after marriage bid fails

01/18/2019

A couple who failed in an attempt to register their same-sex marriage in Japan vowed on Friday to take legal action to force the country to legalize…

Global News

Added on: 01/12/2019

More people identify as LGBT as social awareness grows in Japan: study

01/11/2019

At least one in eleven people identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, according to a survey conducted by advertising giant Dentsu Inc., while more than two-thirds…

Global News

Added on: 01/05/2019

Japanese legislator condemned for making anti-LGBTI comments

01/05/2019

A Japanese lawmaker has come under fire for making anti-LGBTI comments. The comments come from Katsuei Hirasawa, a veteran legislator from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)….

Global News

Added on: 01/03/2019

Lesbian Couple to Wed 26 Times Abroad to Seek Change in Japan

01/03/2019

Two female university students plan to wed 26 times overseas to raise awareness of the fact that they cannot do the same thing in their home country….

Global News

Added on: 01/01/2019

Ten same-sex couples to sue Japanese government over marriage equality

12/29/2018

Ten same-sex couples will file a lawsuit against the Japanese government in a bid for recognition towards marriage equality. The couples, who will file a joint lawsuit…