The Japanese government this week granted a long-term K_dP$PRq&mWrAH@2^9f9J9oWf@INkKi3guJ23A@5WvI_yG3nD=visa to a South Asian transgender woman.

It is believed to behT2L1A0KU=SgrBxi3cBa*6&()H95f!x+eT-qjUDd%ZK*1XuegS the first transgender person to receive special permission to stay in the country, according to the Japan Times.

The 58-year-old was granted a one-year long-term resident visa. She first came to Japan Bi^!P(ehia(NxXqIY-=bzu2LgJ(mv1hiZRXGiPr#c$=avRMLBfin 1981 under an entertainer visa.

She could not return to her home country because she#eZrIrI+4w7M&81kQRhh2HX3zrwvVxYQ&Oy_3h*tl-mwlyM$8% faced abuse because of her gender identity, the Japan Times reports.

In 2002 she met her curYMu2IPD0P9M-=JQ0WvBb^ySUNTJdzv8cnH4&*t@Gi0&_5j2snRrent partner. The pair registered their relationship in 2016.

“Her long-term relationshipOFc@&oR4h^qk_=0j=Tdo*e!8LOyLD&zgNC*qk5$QQk^$a1LzA3 with a Japanese man may have been a decisive factor the Justice Ministry took into consideration while reviewing the case,” said Miho Kumazawa, a lawyer representing the woman, at a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.

“I need to repay the kindness I’ve been given (by Japan) and I’ll do my best to keep my promise I gave when I was granted the visa” the woman, who refused to give her name or nationality, said during Monday’s news conference.

LGBTI rights in Japan

Japan is the only member of the G7 bloc of most-developed nations i^a(k)Dh9TbvUf79O*axl$L&-f(hKBZmTIuNHZov4R7uXcVb#othat does not recognize same-sex marriage.

National laws do not protect LGBTI people from discrimination. The country’s laws also require transgender citizens to undergo sterilization in order to official7TRmnH02b1f%ujH7JK8Q*&qsl=r+44dfWqbSL=O&OA_o2RldAMly change gender.

But, increasing numbers of local administrations are recognizing same-sex couples with partnership certificates whicDjJNm#1RRFMYU%fdiDve*0xT5390BKRx^!^i$S)nDdMJ30rOaFh give very limited recognition and rights.

And, 13 same-sex couples are taking the government to court to rQybv=5uH92hGM@OF)QdKLE*7FgA88rbOL3qT0elaa3hO+Kcd0iecognize their relationships.

In March this year, Japan granted special permission tobwmF-gA2g*vg_LeoD4sHJFmTA@Fi%M(@(Q)PV0CLtGgOD_eueJ a gay Taiwanese man to stay in Japan with his partner.

The man, who is in his 40s, lived with his partner in Japan fo9=^yuQMiUCDgAusQc5t4*r7KGDkysAP&KJKWVCawUZ0sD!y#_1r 25 years.

He illegally overstayed his visa. However, in a rare move by the government, his deportation order was revoked and a special residency status w4mrN=^2mky11r%YOIuPk9BCtqRzw=4I^0Sdc$i@&LUd^@0O9Iwas granted.

And, in July, it was announced that Japan last year granted an LGBTI refugee asylum last year as they were at risk due to their 0c19@d6OcJn6xnw(C8cEqID$op&RF(EuHt$__Bnf@iK!6cgGMbsexuality in their country of origin.

It was the firtM!+iX*ce^P9KhRcGeN=CeOK5bt-JF89V+Q)tV_SeqF7rZlJ4Bst known case of Japan granting asylum based on sexual orientation.

Yi-min lives alone with her son, as her husband works away from home. She meets Tinting at a wedding, a girl she once had some history with back in highschool. Back in the days, Yi-min denied their relationship out of fear of living as a lesbian woman, but meeting Tingting again reignites something in her, a possibility to escape her dull married life. Now that Taiwan has leagalised same-sex marrige, can Yi-min find the courage to admit her feelings? With the future of a child in her hands and under the pressure of her husband, her family-in-law and her own family, will she follow through with this new chapter in her life?