JAPAN

The Tokyo High Court ruled that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, upholding a lower court ruling. This is the second High Court ruling favoring same-sex marriage after the Sapporo High Court came to a similar conclusion earlier this year, and more High Court rulings are expected over the next few months. 

The court found that laws restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples “are not based on reasonable grounds” and lead to “discriminatory treatment (of people) based on their sexual orientation,” according to the ruling.

The rulings don’t immediately create a right to same-sex marriage in Japan, but they add pressure on the government to address the unconstitutionality. These cases will likely find their way to the Supreme Court next year.

Same-sex marriage is not currently legal anywhere in Japan, and the government has long asserted that Section 24 of the post-war constitution rules out same-sex marriage. Section 24 states “marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife as a basis.”

However, equal marriage supporters point out that Section 24 was not intended to deal with same-sex marriage, but rather to assert the right of individuals to marry the person of their choice, rather than traditional arranged marriages. 

A series of recent court victories have gradually opened up recognition of equal rights for same-sex couples in Japan. Five lower courts have found that the ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitution, while only one lower court has upheld the ban as constitutional. 

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court found that same-sex couples are entitled to survivors’ benefits for victims of crime. 

Additionally, 450 municipalities and 30 of Japan’s 47 prefectures have instituted partnership registries for same-sex couples. Although these registries have little legal force, they have helped couples access local services and demonstrate growing recognition of same-sex couples’ rights.

This week’s High Court ruling comes at a time of flux in Japanese politics. During last week’s parliamentary election, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost its governing majority, while the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, which supports same-sex marriage, made huge gains.

Anglo Nippon Politics reports that a very narrow majority of newly elected legislators have expressed support for same-sex marriage, but that the dynamics of the new parliament may make it difficult for the LDP, which hopes to hold onto power with support for smaller conservative parties, to advance controversial issues.

CANADA 

The Alberta government under United Conservative Party Premier Danielle Smith introduced four pieces of anti-LGBTQ and anti-transgender legislation last week, prompting protests in the capital Edmonton and in the province’s largest city Calgary.

Smith had initially announced the legislation in February, amid a general hysteria about transgender youth and school inclusion policies that had swept through conservative parties across Canada. 

The four bills ban gender care for trans youth, require parental notification and consent if a trans student wishes to use a different name or pronoun in school, bars trans women from competing in sports in schools and colleges, and requires parental notification and “opt-in” if sexual orientation, gender identity, or human sexuality will be discussed in classrooms.

Opponents criticized Smith for the legislation, which critics said was timed to help Smith in a leadership review held this weekend. Smith’s leadership was upheld with more than 91 percent of the vote at the UCP convention in Red Deer on Saturday.

More than 1,000 people showed up at Calgary City Hall to demonstrate against the bills on Saturday, as well as against the UCP’s priorities for Alberta, while hundreds more turned up in front of the provincial legislature in Edmonton.

Rowan Morris, an organizer with Trans Rights YEG, told the Edmonton Journal that the bills had galvanized opposition from across the political spectrum, recalling a conversion he had with a conservative supporter.

“[She said], ‘My whole family is here, we’re all conservatives, we will all be conservatives for the rest of our lives, but we recognize that bodily autonomy is a freedom we need to uphold for all Albertans. Whether we agree on how you live your life or not, the government does not have a place in your private medical decisions with your doctor,’” Morris said.

Because of the UCP’s majority in the provincial legislature, there is little chance the bills won’t pass. Voters next go to the polls in Alberta in October 2027.

Voters in Canada have had a chance to weigh in on anti-trans policies this year, and the results have been mixed. In Manitoba and New Brunswick, voters turfed conservative parties from government after they introduced or announced anti-trans policies, while in British Columbia, voters kept the governing New Democrats in office after the opposition Conservatives had announced several similar anti-trans policies.

Last month, voters in Saskatchewan returned its conservative government to power after it introduced a parental notification and consent policy in violation of Canada’s Charter of Rights and pledged to introduce a ban on trans students accessing change rooms and bathrooms in schools if reelected.

GERMANY

The Gender Self-Determination Act came into force on Friday, marking a historic advancement for trans rights in Germany. 

Under the new law, anyone will be able to change their legal name and gender by making a simple application at their local registry office. 

The new law replaces the Transsexuals Act, which dates from the early 1980s, and required anyone wishing to change their legal gender to get permission from a judge after submitting two psychological assessments. 

The law allows name and gender changes for minors. Children under 14 can have the process done by their parents, while those over 14 can do so with parental permission. Youth will also have to submit a declaration that they have sought advice from a psychologist or from a youth welfare specialist.

Also included in the law is a new protection that makes it a criminal offense to out a trans person without their consent.

Gender self-determination is increasingly the norm in Western European countries. Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark have all introduced similar legislation in recent years. Additionally, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, India, Pakistan, as well as several provinces and states of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico allow gender self-determination.

SWITZERLAND 

The Swiss canton of Vaud became the latest place in Europe to ban so-called conversion therapy, as legislation to ban the discredited practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity nationwide has stalled in the federal parliament.

Vaud is the third of Switzerland’s 26 cantons to ban conversion therapy, following Neuchatel last December and Valais earlier this year. Vaud is Switzerland’s third-largest canton, home to more than 800,000 people. 

In 2022, the lower house of the Swiss parliament passed a motion calling on the government to introduce a conversion therapy ban, but the motion was rejected by the upper house earlier this year.  Legislators at the time said they wanted to wait for more information from the Federal Council, which was due to report on conversion therapy over the summer. 

In the meantime, several other Swiss cantons have begun debating local bans on conversion therapy, including Geneva, Bern, and Zurich. 

Doctors and therapists are already prohibited from practicing conversion therapy in Switzerland by their professional associations, but much conversion therapy is carried out by unlicensed individuals.

Conversion therapy has already been banned across much of Western Europe, including France, Germany, Norway, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, and Iceland. It has also been banned in Mexico, Ecuador, New Zealand, Canada, Taiwan, and in many U.S. and Australian states.