Fumino Sugiyama will finally be able to marry his girlfriend of four years. He couldn’t before, because same-sex marriages weren’t recognised in Japan, and he is legally a woman.
With a landmark vote on Tuesday by the Assembly of Tokyo’s Shibuya ward, the district became the first locale in Japan to recognise same-sex partnerships as the “equivalent of a marriage,” guaranteeing the identical rights of married couples, including hospital visitations and apartment rentals.
“We are not out to change the world,” said Sugiyama, who knew of his male identity since he was in kindergarten and had cried as a child because he didn’t want to wear a skirt. “We simply want the right to be with the person we love.”
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The new ordinance applies only to Shibuya, and it’s technically not legally binding, though violators will have their names posted on the ward’s website.
Japanese conservatives, including the powerful politicians of the ruling party, have been unwilling to back the initiative, and protest rallies have popped up in Shibuya.
The vote passed, with the majority of the 34 ward’s legislators standing up to show their approval.
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Shibuya ward Mayor Toshitake Kuwahara said accepting diversity matches the friendly, vivacious character of the area a bustling place known for boutiques, live music and a Silicon Valley-like cluster of start-ups.
Koyuki Higashi and Hiroko Masuhara, a rare visible and vocal lesbian couple in Japan, emerged from the Shibuya ward office Tuesday, holding up a rainbow banner that said, “Thank you, Shibuya,” in English.
The couple said they moved to Shibuya four months ago, just to apply for a same-sex marriage certificate. They have been together for three years, and held a symbolic wedding at Tokyo DisneySea two years ago.