Gay rights in Japan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Japan has no laws against homosexual activity, and some legal protections for homosexuals.

Contents 1 Sexual activity 2 Employment 3 Accommodation 4 Medical issues 5 Political support 6 Marriage 7 References

[edit] Sexual activity

Sodomy was criminalized in Japan in 1873, but the provision was repealed only seven years later by the Penal Code of 1880. [1] The current Japanese legal code only indirectly addresses the issue of homosexuality. Technically homosexual relations between consenting adults (13) in private are not a crime. However, some local governments or prefectures have enacted laws that effectively raise the age of consent for homosexual conduct to eighteen, on the grounds of protecting the youth.

Prostitution is illegal under the 1958 "Prostitution Prevention Act" however, because homosexuality is not seen as sexual conduct in the criminal code but rather define it as "seikou-ruiji-kōi" (similar to sexual conduct) homosexual prostitution is often dealt with other local laws.

[edit] Employment

The Japanese Self Defence Force does not formally bar volunteers on the basis of sexual orientation but in 1992 a representative for the SDF stated that there are no homosexuals in the Defence Force, suggesting that openly gay servicemen or lesbian servicewomen could be punished for their sexuality.

Japanese civil rights laws do not include protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. However, in 1997 the group OCCUR (Japan Association for the Lesbian and Gay Movement) won a court case against a Tokyo government policy that barred gay and lesbian youth from using the "Metropolitan House for Youth." However, the court ruling does not seem to have extended to other areas of government sponsored discrimination. The city government of Tokyo has since passed legislation banning discrimination in employment based on sexual identity.

In 2004 Kazuhito Tadano, a heterosexual Japanese baseball pitcher, joined the American Cleveland Indians after being publicly blacklisted from playing on Japanese baseball teams. It had been previously revealed that he had acted in a gay pornographic film, along with other team members, when he was a member of the Rikkyo University baseball team.

[edit] Accommodation

The Osaka residence board has limited subsidised housing to single persons, married or marriagable couples. The housing authority is explicity banned from providing such apartments to same-sex couples.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Medical issues

In terms of transgender issues, the Japan's Health and Welfare Ministry modified its policy in 1998 to allow doctors in Japan to perform gender-reassignment surgeries.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Political support

The major Japanese political parties do not express much public support for LGBT rights issues. In 1994 the then Foreign Minister Koji Kakizawa stated in Shokun! magazine that he was opposed to his party simply calling themselves the Liberals, because it might lead people to believe that they supported homosexuals.

Both the ruling Liberal Democrats and Komei pledge to oppose all discrimination that women face, but do not address the issue of sexual orientation. Likewise, the major opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan only offers a broad endorsement of equal opportunity. Yet, even the minor political parties have been reluctant to publicly endorse gay rights. ^[1]

The defunct Japanese Green Party Rainbow and Green refused to address the issue, although as a part of the "Global Greens" movement they technically had endorsed a broad human rights agenda that included gay rights. The Liberal League homepage states that it opposes "any form of discrimination". Likewise the Japanese Communist Party also avoids the issue.

In 2001 The Council for Human Rights Promotion, under the Ministry of Justice, recommended that sexual orientation be included in the nation's civil rights code, but the Diet has refused to take action.

In 2003 Aya Kamikawa became the first transgender candidate to run for public office in Japan, Tokyo's municipal government.

In 2005 Kanako Otsuji, from the Osaka Prefectural Assembly, became the first Japanese politician to formally come out at the Tokyo Gay Pride Festival.

[edit] Marriage

The Japanese Department of Registration (Gaimusho, 外務省) recently received the order to confirm the heterosexual status of couples applying for marriage licenses, and, if the members of the couple were not of different sexes, to decline the application. Same-sex civil unions and domestic partnerships performed in Germany (and presumably other countries) have no legal standing in Japan.

[edit] References