Tokyo Plans to Allow Same-Sex Marriage in 2022
Making it the second Asian region to do so after Taiwan.
Tokyo has announced that it plans to allow same-sex partnerships from April 2022.
“From the point of view of advancing understanding of sexual diversity, as well as reducing the problems faced by those involved, we will lay out basic principles for introducing a same-sex partnership system in the next fiscal year,” the Japanese capital’s Governor Yuriko Koike said at a meeting, as reported by CNN. The move comes after a unanimous vote by the local assembly.
Some regions in Tokyo already recognize same-sex couples, giving them the same rights as married heterosexual couples. However, some LGBTQ+ couples still face inequality when it comes to taxation.
Masa Yanagisawa, head of Prime Services Japan at Goldman Sachs and co-chief of the company’s Asia Pacific LGBTQ+ Council, commented: “This is a significant milestone for Japan. Hopefully, this will have some sort of domino effect on other local governments.”
Tokyo’s move will make the city the second region in Asia to allow same-sex marriage, after Taiwan.
