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According to the report, a decade has passed since Tokyo's Shibuya and Setagaya wards introduced Japan's first partnership system in November 2015, offering public recognition to LGBTQ+ and other sexual-minority couples.
The report stated that since then, the system has spread across the country. Such systems, however, are based solely on local ordinances and do not confer rights equivalent to legal marriage. As lawsuits seeking recognition of same-sex marriage proceed in courts nationwide, municipalities and others continue to explore, through trial and error, how best to protect individual rights.
The report also stated that some couples choose not to register for the system because they do not wish to be publicly identified as participants. Under the system, the certificate can be useful in situations such as when applying for municipal housing, visiting a partner who has been admitted to a public hospital, or giving consent to surgery on a partner's behalf.
The report said that in 2021, the city of Akashi in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, introduced a partnership and family-ship system that officially recognizes the relationships of two people who consider each other partners or family members. Under this system, children living with such couples are recognized as family members rather than merely cohabitants. Akashi was the first municipality in Japan to extend legal recognition this far, by certifying family relationships as well as partnerships.
Additionally, the city government publicly recruited specialized staff for a new department dedicated to preparing the system, and eventually hired two people with relevant experience. While launching consultation services and holding outreach lectures, the department identified a need among child-rearing couples to provide "proof of family status" to hospitals and other institutions. This discovery led to the formal establishment of the system.
Source: PNA/ Jiji Press
The report stated that since then, the system has spread across the country. Such systems, however, are based solely on local ordinances and do not confer rights equivalent to legal marriage. As lawsuits seeking recognition of same-sex marriage proceed in courts nationwide, municipalities and others continue to explore, through trial and error, how best to protect individual rights.
The report also stated that some couples choose not to register for the system because they do not wish to be publicly identified as participants. Under the system, the certificate can be useful in situations such as when applying for municipal housing, visiting a partner who has been admitted to a public hospital, or giving consent to surgery on a partner's behalf.
The report said that in 2021, the city of Akashi in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, introduced a partnership and family-ship system that officially recognizes the relationships of two people who consider each other partners or family members. Under this system, children living with such couples are recognized as family members rather than merely cohabitants. Akashi was the first municipality in Japan to extend legal recognition this far, by certifying family relationships as well as partnerships.
Additionally, the city government publicly recruited specialized staff for a new department dedicated to preparing the system, and eventually hired two people with relevant experience. While launching consultation services and holding outreach lectures, the department identified a need among child-rearing couples to provide "proof of family status" to hospitals and other institutions. This discovery led to the formal establishment of the system.
Source: PNA/ Jiji Press