Japanese city offers municipal housing to same-sex couples

Same-sex couples in Kum[email protected]+cm-yK8GN-iZ&e7zBSfp-Dl#[email protected]amoto City will be able to move into public housing using the prefecture’s partnership certificates for LGBT people, local media has reported.

In April, Kumamoto joined a number of locafUm*UVftl6*li)HP*SQUjDuR03+4fsP(47O+ED%gwv*ee$T3L-l governments in Japan in issuing same-sex partnership certificates or oaths.

They offer limited rights such as public housing, hospital visitation rights, the right to make meFG0RtjZZtIy([email protected]^Ort2fuw9gYdical decisions for the partner, and special benefits given by employers.

Kumamoto City representatives this week confirmed same-sex couples would be able to move into municipal housing, according to Yomiuri Shimbun. The same-sex couples will be listed as “relatives” in the housing documentations.

About 24 local governments have now opted to issue certificates to LGBT coup@JyGB)5Vahf5Bvz9R93$wimFg-PXVq8U16JgNo-7z9bO4^hvLOles.

In July, Ibaraki Prefecture became the first entire prefecture to offer certificates9oYhhJTY0#[email protected]#@j6PGPz=VLvbTs6qc. With a population of three million, Ibaraki Prefecture is also the largest municipality to recognize same-sex couples.

Conservative Jam^cC7)p+J%0wdxY6LD4XVPMPHVx0%W*vX=H$R*YbqOtWVSluWApan does not allow same-sex marriage.

But, since 2016, local municipalities have been providing couples with limited recognition in government hosy%54%pB3TcR$Kdv&7halMt_loBzJ7L_gwshwOb2#JxTNT6igtDpitals and housing.

Shibuya Ward and C=ZZ*j7!GjY^6$=x-d^-O=^[email protected](RPLPToshima Ward both enacted ordinances, which means they were voted through by the local government.

Sapporo became the first city in the country to recognize same-sex relationships [email protected]&gJBuc=EhDu=*MRmGoXnoN%^7e67hsO_BGI)+cUWHin 2017.

In the first five months of 2019 alone, the number of local gHx0H5#!Fn6KgOhPLJGg=*[email protected]%8(YzX%ND1hdJl(p4GoKB=2-pZtovernments with a ‘partnership system’ has grown from 9 to 22, according to the Tokyo Review.

LGBTI9m&sh*&&INDr8J+DmxP_)VG*eaMQVIg3-g=f-3+aFZ#=*rGBb6 research group Nijiiro Diversity has found 426 couples acquired a partnership document as of 17 April this year.

But, considering tens of millions of people live across the municipalities offering the certificatesyI9-7u-44vk5OB+K)AUtrEpNK(+LU8WykczlZ^YnT%$GKh0yKI, very few LGBTI couples have registered.

The national government in Tokyo has made no moves to implement a country-wide registration. Japan is the only country in the G7 not to recognize same-sex O#pHwkszP5Sj^KWJ0Y%^h#hMC#VggU4ibUC&8(W)gi*%OW5!SQunions.

But, in recent months, there have been significant moves towards equal marri6PzuG_1=qS!FihwPnOUe&jFtj-^%UoNs)D_SIDFI(m6z9c#zpYage in Japan.

Two courts in34C7Wy)GetgrXZ2I3IaChHqaEW0)=rJM)raptOI2mhDBm0rJAM Japan in April held initial hearings in landmark legal action against the government’s failure to recognize same-sex marriages.

Courts in Tokyo and Sapporo heard arguments from plaintiffs suing the government to recognize their same-sex relat[email protected]#rB5xd$b7xXv+XU7B1(x-QY1SE#[email protected]!ph&==#=Ylionships. Thirteen same-sex couples in Japan filed lawsuits in four district courts against the government in February.