Japan’s top court strikes down sterilisation requirement for gender change

Japan’s Supreme Court has ruled that a law requiring transgender people to undergo sterilisation surgery in order to officially change their gender is unconstitutional (Kyodo News/AP)

Japan’s Supreme Court has ruled that a law requiring transgender people to undergo sterilisation surgery in order to officially change their gender is unconstitutional.

The decision by the top court’s 15-judge Grand Bench on Wednesday was its first on the constitutionality of Japan’s 2003 law requiring the removal of sex organs for a state-recognised gender change, a practice long criticised by international rights and medical groups.