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ATRALIAN OUTLOOK HOME ATRALIAN OUTLOOK LGBTQ RIGHTS JAPANIN THIS SECTN GO BACK TO ATRALIAN OUTLOOKABOUTLGBTQ RIGHTS JAPAN01 JUL 2021BY ALEARDO ZANGHELLIANALYSIS SHAREFACEBOOKTWTERLKEDJAPAN LACKS PREHENSIVE LEGAL PROTECTNS AGAST DISCRIMATN ON THE GROUNDS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATN AND GENR INTY, AS WELL AS SAME-SEX RELATNSHIP REGNN LAWS. THERE HAVE BEEN SOME PROMISG RECENT LEGAL VELOPMENTS, BUT STRATEGI FOR REFORM MIGHT BE EFULLY RENSIRED.PRI HAS E TO RONATE WH (METROPOLAN) QUEERS AROUND THE WORLD. NOT UNLIKE A NOVEL PRODUCTN OF A WELL-KNOWN PLAY, HOWEVER, PRI IS PERFORMED A LTLE DIFFERENTLY WH EACH NEW GEOGRAPHIL ERATN. AS PRI IS TAKEN UP OUTSI THE ANGLO-AMERIN WT, S AFFIRMATIVE RE IS MATAED, BUT THE NNOTATNS OF THE MSAGE AND THE MO OF S LIVERY CHANGE A WAY THAT SUS LOL NDNS AND SENSIBILI.TAKE PRI PARAS JAPAN. TO AN OBSERVER ED TO SYDNEY’S MARDI GRAS, TOKYO RABOW PRI MIGHT LOOK LIKE A TAME AFFAIR. BUT WOULD BE NGO FOR TO LOOK ANY DIFFERENT OM WHAT DO – NOR, OF URSE, IS THERE ANY GOOD REASON WHY SHOULD. IT IS A VIRTUAL CLICHé OF TERCULTURAL MUNITN THEORY THAT JAPANE TERLOCUTORS REIL OM OPEN NONTATN, AND MAY OFTEN SPEAK BY DIRECTN. A LS -YOUR-FACE PUBLIC CELEBRATN OF QUEERNS MAK PERFECT SENSE JAPAN.THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT JAPANE QUEERS DON’T HAVE GROUNDS FOR PLAT. JAPAN LACKS THE VILENT HOMOPHOBIA TYPIL OF MANY CULTUR STEEPED THE JUDAEO-CHRISTIAN TRADN, BUT JAPANE SOCIETY REMAS NSIRABLY HETERONORMATIVE. ALTHOUGH SAME-SEX SEXUAL ACTIVY IS LEGAL JAPAN, MEDIA STEREOTYP NTUE, AND G OUT IS OFTEN DIFFICULT. ADDNALLY, THERE ARE NO SAME-SEX RELATNSHIP REGNN LAWS: A MORY BILL TO LEGALISE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE WAS SUBMTED JUNE 2019, BUT REMAS TO BE LIBERATED THE DIET. MEANWHILE, THE MEANS BY WHICH SOME JAPANE SAME-SEX UPL MAY TRY TO LEGALLY SECURE THEIR STAT WERE NOT SIGNED HAVG GAY RELATNSHIPS MD, AND ARE NOT QUE F FOR PURPOSE.JAPAN ALSO LACKS UNTRY-WI PREHENSIVE PROTECTN AGAST DISCRIMATN OF LGBTQ PEOPLE. THIS LACK OF LEGAL PROTECTNS HAS NCRETE NSEQUENC. ACRDG TO AMNTY INTERNATNAL, DISCRIMATN EMPLOYMENT IS MON. DISCRIMATN AGAST SAME-SEX UPL WISHG TO RENT OR TAKE UP MORTGAG IS ALSO A PROBLEM, G UNNECSARY HARDSHIP FOR SAME-SEX UPL WISHG TO BUILD A LIFE TOGETHER.ACTIVISTS HAVE BEEN TRYG TO PALISE ON THE MOMENTUM GENERATED BY THE TOKYO OLYMPICS, GIVEN THE INTERNATNAL OLYMPICS COMMTEE’S MMENT TO LGBTQ EQUALY, MANDG LEGAL PROTECTN AGAST DISCRIMATN. BUT THE MOST THE LG LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (LDP) AGREED TO WAS TO SUBM TO THE DIET A DRAFT LGBT EQUALY ACT SEEKG TO PROMOTE UNRSTANDG, BUT FAILG TO MAKE ANY PROVISN FOR THE RIGHT TO BE EE OM DISCRIMATN. IN THE EVENT, THE TEXT OF THE DRAFT ACT WAS CHANGED SO AS TO CLU A STATEMENT CLARG DISCRIMATN ON THE GROUND OF SEXUAL ORIENTATN AND GENR INTY “UNACCEPTABLE,” BUT THE LDP THEN FAILED TO SUBM TO THE DIET AT ALL BEFORE THE RELEVANT SSN CLOSED AHEAD OF THE GAM.ON THE RELATNSHIP REGNN ONT, RECENT YEARS TENSNS HAVE EMERGED BETWEEN THE APPROACH OF THE NATNAL ERNMENT, LARGELY OPPOSED TO SAME-SEX RELATNSHIP REGNN, AND THAT OF LOL MUNICIPALI. AN CREASG NUMBER OF THE HAS BEEN AFFORDG SAME-SEX UPL THE OPPORTUNY TO FORMALISE THEIR RELATNSHIP, RULTG LIMED – LEGALLY UNENFORCEABLE – NSEQUENC.THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN TENSNS THE APPROACH TAKEN BY DIFFERENT URTS. IN 2020, THE NAGOYA DISTRICT COURT (AICHI) HELD THAT SAME-SEX UPL SHOULD NOT BE TREATED LIKE DIFFERENT-SEX FACTO UPL FOR THE PURPOS OF PENSATG SURVIVG SPO FOR THE LOSS OF THEIR PARTNERS DUE TO CRIMAL ACTS. ON THE OTHER HAND, SAME-SEX LOVERS HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE BOTH RPONSIBLE FOR AND ENTLED TO ADULTERY-RELATED DAMAG, RPECTIVELY A 2021 CISN OF THE TOKYO DISTRICT COURT AND A 2020 LG OF THE TOKYO HIGH COURT AFFIRMG THE CISN OF THE MOKA BRANCH OF THE UTSONOMIYA DISTRICT COURT, TOCHIGI. THE HIGH COURT EXPLICLY SISTED ON THE FUNCTNAL EQUIVALENCE BETWEEN (SOME) SAME-SEX RELATNSHIPS AND HETEROSEXUAL MARRIAGE.THE QUTN OF SAME-SEX RELATNSHIP REGNN ALSO HAS IMPLITNS FOR TRANSGENR PEOPLE JAPAN. THIS EXPLAS WHY SOME JAPANE TRANS PEOPLE HAVE BEEN MPAIGNG FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE ALONGSI LGB PEOPLE. SCE LEGAL REGNN FOR TRANS PEOPLE JAPAN REQUIR GENR REASSIGNMENT SURGERY (AS NFIRMED BY THE SUPREME COURT 2019), A PRE-OPERATIVE OR NON-OPERATIVE TRANS PERSON WH A PARTNER OF THE SAME BIRTH-SEX IS UNABLE TO MARRY, BEE, FOR LEGAL PURPOS, THEY ARE NOT REGNISED AS A DIFFERENT-SEX UPLE. TH, THE TRODUCTN OF SAME-SEX RELATNSHIP REGNN LAWS WOULD ALSO BENEF HETEROSEXUAL PRE-OPERATIVE AND NON-OPERATIVE TRANS PEOPLE JAPAN, AT LEAST UNTIL THE LAWS ON GENR REGNN ARE LIBERALISED.A 2019 SE VOLVG A NON-OPERATIVE SOUTH-EAST ASIAN TRANS WOMAN PARTNERED WH A JAPANE MAN ILLTRAT THE TERSECTN BETWEEN MATTERS OF TRANS REGNN AND SAME-SEX RELATNSHIP REGNN JAPAN. THE PAIR WAS UNABLE TO MARRY AND SECURE A VISA FOR THE TRANS WOMAN, BEE BY LAW SHE IS NSIRED MALE, YET SHE OBTAED LEAVE TO REMA JAPAN OM THE JTICE MISTRY, ON THE GROUND OF HER RELATNSHIP. THIS OUTE N BE READ EHER AS AN IMPLIC AFFIRMATN OF HER GENR INTY AS FEMALE, AND OF HER RELATNSHIP AS A FACTO HETEROSEXUAL ONE, FUNCTNALLY EQUIVALENT TO MARRIAGE; OR AS IMPLYG THAT SAME-SEX RELATNSHIPS SHOULD BE TREATED ON A PAR WH HETEROSEXUAL MARRIAG FOR AT LEAST SOME LEGAL PURPOS.THE MOST SIGNIFINT RECENT LEGAL VELOPMENT, HOWEVER, IS THE FIRST JUDGMENT THE SO-LLED “VALENTE DAY LAWSU,” LNCHED SEVERAL DISTRICT URTS FEBARY 2019 WH A VIEW TO SPEARHEADG SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LAW REFORM. IN MARCH, THE SAPPORO DISTRICT COURT LED THAT THE FAILURE TO LEGALLY REGNISE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE WAS UNNSTUTNAL. WILL THE SUPREME COURT TAKE THE SAME VIEW IF THE SE REACH ? GIVEN S LEGENDARY SELF-RTRAT WHEN EXERCISG S POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW, S RELUCTANCE TO SEE THE CONSTUTN AS A SOURCE OF LEGALLY ENFORCEABLE OBLIGATNS, AND THE LIMS OF THE DIALOGIC APPROACH TENDS TO FAVOUR, I DOUBT THAT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE REFORM N BE ACHIEVED VIA THE JUDICIAL BRANCH JAPAN.THIS LEAV THE POLIL BRANCH. HOWEVER, THOUGH A SIZEABLE MORY OF 115 MEMBERS (OUT OF A TOTAL OF 710) OF THE NATNAL DIET HAVE PUBLICLY CLARED THEIR SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE, LS THAN A DOZEN OF THEM BELONG TO THE LG LDP. THE SYMBOLISM OF MARRIAGE MAY BE SIMPLY TOO MUCH FOR NSERVATIVE JAPANE LAWMAKERS NSUMED WH ANXIETI ABOUT UPSETTG TRADNAL VALU. SUCH FEARS, HOWEVER, LOOM MUCH LARGER THE MDS OF POLICIANS THAN THE POPULATN AT LARGE: NEARLY 80 PERCENT OF JAPANE ADULTS AGED 20-59 SUPPORT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.ONE MAY SPECULATE THAT THE SYMBOLISM OF MARRIAGE MIGHT MATTER LS TO JAPANE QUEERS THAN THE PRACTIL LEGAL PROTECTNS ASSOCIATED WH RELATNSHIP REGNN, CLUDG IMMIGRATN RIGHTS FOR FOREIGN PARTNERS OF JAPANE CIZENS. IN THE CIRCUMSTANC, A REFORM APPROACH BASED ON ATRALIA’S DISTCTIVE MOL OF -FACTO SAME-SEX RELATNSHIP REGNN (PNEERED NEW SOUTH WAL, WHERE PREDATED THE TRODUCTN OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE FERAL LAW BY ALMOST TWO S) MAY BE A MORE PROMISG WAY FORWARD FOR JAPAN THAN MPAIGNG AND LIGATG FOR THE RIGHT TO MARRY.ALEARDO ZANGHELLI IS PROFSOR OF LAW AND SOCIAL THEORY AT THE UNIVERSY OF READG. HIS AREAS OF SPECIALISATN CLU THE POLICS AND ERNANCE OF SEXUALY AND GENR. ALEARDO IS THE THOR OF TWO REARCH MONOGRAPHS: THE SEXUAL CONSTUTN OF POLIL AUTHORY: THE ‘TRIALS’ OF SAME-SEX DIRE (2015), AND IMAGATIVE RISTANCE, QUEER FICTN AND THE LAW: SAME-SEX DIRE AND THE GOOD LIFE HETERONORMATIVE ORRS (2021), BOTH PUBLISHED BY ROUTLEDGE.THIS ARTICLE IS PUBLISHED UNR A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE AND MAY BE REPUBLISHED WH ATTRIBUTN.RELATED ARTICL
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