The same-sex marriage hasn't been legalized in Japan, nor has it been much discussed in the public or political space. Yet Shibuya-ku (one of the most progressive local government entities in Japan) has made the first step to get closer to the same-sex marriage in this country.
"To make sure that sexual minorities will be respected in our society, Shibuya-ku will issue the same-sex partnership license," Ward Mayor Toshitake Kuwabara announced.
The ward (Shibuya-ku) has learned about same-sex couples whose apartment applications were rejected because they're not "family" and found it a serious problem. That's why, the ward has discussed the issue since last July.
As a result, Shibuya-ku decided to propose a bill to issue the "Partnership License" which acknowledges same-sex couples as an equivalent to married ones next month.
The ward states that this new system is fundamentally different from marriage itself. However, it's the first case that the local government in Japan issues such license verifying same-sex couples as (official) partners.
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I found this news interesting and thought that it's a very Japanese way to pave the road toward the same-sex marriage.
In the U.S. and elsewhere in the West, for example, the process of legalizing the same-sex marriage is a fight to win that right as people did in The American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary Wars. In contrast, such a right and freedom is often "provided" from the top (i.e., a government) to the public in Japan when the time matures.
The Japanese government is less likely to be the first to adopt novel ideas, but it's pretty liberal and quickly accept them once new changes prevail in more progressive countries and such waves reach the own shore.
That's good and there's nothing wrong about having a different process to social, cultural and political changes, but I still think that LGBT people in Japan could speak up a bit more . . . (or I may be biased because I'm living in the States and hear more rants here rather than there in Japan.)
P.S. Here is an interview video asking a lesbian couple and a gay couple about what they think about this news.
P.P.S. (2/15/2015) Ward Mayor of Setagaya-ku in Tokyo also announced that his ward is also working on a measure to address the same-sex partnership. His announcement is directly influenced by the Japan's first (if the bill is passed) same-sex partnership measure in Shibuya-ku.
P.P.P.S. (2/17/2015) A Japanese gay lawyer and another transgender lawyer comment on this new bill in this article (though it's in Japanese).
Image courtesy of GQ: http://gqjapan.jp/more/business/20130416/lgbtmarriage
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