Tokyo Begins Issuing Partnership Certificates To Same-Sex Couples

In a step forward, Tokyo has begun rolling out a partnership certificate scheme for same-sex couples who live and work in the capital. The move has been long-awaited in the country which still does not allow equal marriage.

While the status does not carry the same rights as marriage, it allows LGBTQ partners to be treated as married couples for some public services in areas such as housing, health and welfare.

Tokyo partnership certificates

More than 200 smaller local authorities in Japan have already made moves to recognise same-sex partnerships since Tokyo’s Shibuya district pioneered the system in 2015.

As of Friday last week, 137 couples had applied for a certificate, Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike said.

Hopes are high among advocates that the introduction of same-sex partnership certificates, which cover both Tokyo residents and commuters, will help fight anti-LGBTQ discrimination in Japan.

A 2021 survey by public broadcaster NHK showed that 57 per cent of the public were in favour of gay marriage, versus 37 per cent against it.

For couples like Miki and Katie, the certificate takes a weight off their minds.

"My biggest fear has been that we would be treated as strangers in an emergency," Miki - who chose to be referred to only by their first names - told news agency Agence France-Presse.

Soyoka Yamamoto - an LGBT rights campaigner who was among the first to collect her certificate on Tuesday - told reporters she sincerely hoped "we can accelerate efforts to create a society where the rights of sexual minorities can be protected, and made more equal".

How will the certificates work?

The partnership certificates - which have also been introduced in eight other prefectures across Japan - will allow same-sex couples to be treated the same as married couples when it comes to housing, medicine and welfare. But they will not help with issues like adoption, inheritance and spousal visas.

Anyone aged over 18 who either lives or works in Tokyo is allowed to apply.

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