Tokyo district gives go ahead for Japan’s first same-sex marriages
By Josh Haggis
A district in Tokyo has given the go ahead to issue marriage certificates to same-sex couples for the first time in the city’s history.
Assembly members in the Shibuya district of the city passed an ordinance this week that will permit officials to begin issuing certificates to gay and lesbian couples as early as summer.
Although the certificates will only have symbolic significance due to the country’s current legislation that outlaws gay marriage, officials have insisted that they will be encouraging hospitals and businesses throughout the district to treat gay couples with a certificate in the same way they would treat a heterosexual married couple.
“I’m happy,” a gay rights campaigner told NDTV. “I hope this movement will be spread across Japan and discussions on same-sex marriages will accelerate. I hope I can marry Hiroko in Japan.”
Meanwhile, it’s been suggested that Japan could legalise same-sex marriage before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in order to avoid a Sochi-style backlash – find out more here.
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