National

The age of consent for male homosexual sex is 13 years [R1].

Asylum, Refugees

Courts & Tribunals

On 11 April 2004, the Tokyo District Court held that an Iranian man's sexual orientation was not grounds enough to grant refugee status [R1.1].

Presiding judge Yosuke Ichimura said, "In Iran, he has been concealing his homosexuality. Therefore, the possibility is slight that he would be persecuted at home" [R1.1].

The case was heard on appeal after his application was rejected by the Justice Ministry [R1.2].

On 18 February 2003, the U.S.-based Iranian human rights activist Goudarz Eghtedari told the Tokyo District Court that the plaintiff, an Iranian homosexual, would likely face capital punishment if the Justice Ministry carried out its order to deport him to Iran [R1.3].

National

There are no GLBT anti-discrimination laws in Japan [R1.1].

In 2001, the Council for Human Rights Promotion of the Japanese Justice Ministry explicitly included discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation within the mandate of the proposed national human rights commission, to be founded in two of three years [R1.2].

Cities & Towns

On 21 November 2000, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government finally included sexual orientation as a category protected from discrimination within its new human rights guidelines [R2.1].

Regions

In 2000, there were two regional governments that have the human rights guidelines which mention lesbian and gay rights. They were Tokyo and Ehime (in the south west district of Japan) [R2.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In 2001, the High Court ruled that when a governmental agency "performs its duties, it is obligated to pay careful attention to the situation of homosexuals as a minority and to guarantee that their rights and interests be upheld. Indifference and ignorance regarding homosexuality are inexcusable on the part of persons in the position of wielding governmental authority" [R4.1].

In September 1997, the Tokyo High Court rejected the appeal of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMP) against the Japan Association for the Lesbian and Gay Movement (OCCUR), reaffirming the 1994 decision of the District Court that Tokyo's refusal to allow OCCUR members to use its Houses for Youth was illegal and discriminatory [R4.2].

National

In 2004, Japan's transgendered were allowed to put their corrected sex and use their new names on official documents under a law passed by the House of Representatives [R1.1].

To change their documentation TGs will have to be diagnosed by at least two doctors as "having a different psychological makeup from their biological sex" and a desire to live as the opposite gender both physically and socially. Applicants must be at least 20 years old, unmarried, have no children, and no longer have functioning reproductive organs as a result of undergoing gender reassignment surgery. They must then go to family court for final approval [R1.2].

Since 1998, sex change operations have been legal in Japan [R1.3], however up until now, changing a person's gender on the records at the local government office has been problematic as local registrars were able to decide whether changes could be made [R1.4].

Courts & Tribunals

In 2003, the Tokyo Family Court dismissed a request filed by a transsexual in 2001 to allow him to alter his gender in the country's family register [R2.1].

National

Since 1882, consensual sex between same-sex couples has been lawful in Japan [R1.1].

National

In March 2009, Japanese nationals could wed their same-sex foreign partners in countries where same-sex marriage is permitted. The justice ministry instructed local authorities to issue documents pertaining to marriage to gay couples planning to wed abroad [R1.1].

Prefectures

In December 1998, a male couple were "wed" last month at a Shinto shrine in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, apparently becoming the first gay pair for whom a marriage-style ceremony took place at a shrine [R2.1].

National

Japan reportedly does not consider the sexual orientation of recruits or of military personnel on active duty [R11.].

National

In January 2010, it was reported that a married trans man whose wife gave birth to a son using his brother's sperm was informed by officials that the child is classed as illegitimate, despite a 2004 law which allows people to be legally recognised in their acquired gender [R1.1].