Tokyo begins same-sex partnership recognition

Same-sex couples speak to the media at Tokyo metropolitan government as the Japanese capital starts acknowledging same-sex partnerships, Tuesday Nov. 1, 2022 (Mari Yamaguchi/AP/PA)

Japan’s capital, Tokyo, began issuing certificates recognising same-sex couples on Tuesday, becoming the largest municipality to do so in a country in which same-sex marriage is not allowed.

Seven years after Tokyo’s Shibuya district first introduced same-sex partnership recognition in 2015, more than 200 smaller towns have joined the move, accounting for less than one-fifth of Japanese municipalities.