Tokyo authorities are debating what services will be available to beneficiaries of the system.
The Government of Tokyo plans to introduce a system for the recognition of same-sex couples as early as 2022 that allows them to have a status equivalent to that of a conventional marriage throughout the regional territory.
This was announced by the governor of the Japanese capital, Yuriko Koike, during a plenary session of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly held the day before and which was echoed by local media on Wednesday.
“We will present a basic concept of the system this fiscal year, with a view to introducing it in the next, with the aim of alleviating problems in the lives of the people involved and promoting understanding about sexual diversity,” Koike said during the session, according to statements. collected by the Japanese newspaper Manichi.
The Japanese fiscal year runs from April to March of the following year.
The prefectures of Ibaraki, Gunma, Mie, Osaka and Saga have already implemented similar systems, and several districts of Tokyo itself and other cities in the country have long been issuing certificates for these couples locally, allowing them, for example, become beneficiaries of your partner’s life insurance and use family discounts for certain services.
This was impossible until these systems began to be introduced in 2016, since Japan does not legally recognize gay marriage.
Tokyo authorities are debating what services will be available to beneficiaries of the system, which aims to solve some of the problems that these couples encounter when looking for housing or opting for medical services.
The metropolitan government conducted an online survey of its residents in October, asking about their knowledge of the situation of sexual minorities and the need to support them. Approximately 70% of the respondents supported the introduction of such a system.
The Japanese government, led by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), is reluctant to legalize same-sex marriage based on article 24 of the Constitution, which defines marriage “based solely on the mutual consent of both sexes”, understanding that only it can be between a male and a female. (I)
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