JAPAN

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told parliament that he believed legalizing same-sex marriage would make the country happier, although he has no plan to bring forward legislation to make that happen. 

The remarks, which were echoed days later by Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, have buoyed the spirits of equal marriage campaigners in the country, despite the government’s lack of commitment to progress on the issue.

“Compared to other prime ministers, there is a big difference in Ishiba’s tone, his direction and his outlook and we are clearly getting to the stage for Japan to take the next step in the right direction,” marriage equality activist Alexander Dmitrenko told This Week in Asia.

Equal marriage advocates have been waging a long battle through both the courts and the political process to win same-sex marriage rights.

Earlier this month, a third appellate court ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage violates the Japanese constitution, finding for the first time that the ban violates the constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness. Five out of six lower courts that have heard cases seeking equal marriage have also ruled for equality. 

Elections in October yielded a parliament that has a majority in favor of equal marriage, but is still dominated by the largely conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which has formed a minority government. 

While Ishiba says he will not bring forward same-sex marriage legislation and is instead following the progress of cases through the courts for now, it is possible that other parties may try to force the issue by introducing their own bills. 

“The Fukuoka court has clearly said that the Diet must legally permit same-sex marriages in the same way that marriages between people of opposite sexes are recognized,” Takeharu Kato, one of the lawyers in the equal marriage case that was heard in Sapporo. 

“We intend to continue to put strong pressure on the government to realize these changes because we are confident that we are nearly there.”

PHILIPPINES

Government workers in the Philippines now have the right to dress according to their gender identity, under a new official dress code issued by the Civil Service Commission issued this month.

The Philippines’ civil service is known for its strict dress code for government workers. Workers are required to wear specific locally inspired outfits on Mondays and have been required to wear gender-conforming smart casual office attire on other workdays.

Under the revised dress code, workers are freer to dress according to their gender identity, and female workers are freer to wear either skirts or pants. The new code also relaxes standards relating to tattoos, facial piercings, and hairstyles, as long as they don’t interfere with the employee’s work or with safety standards.

Gender-inclusive dress codes have become a much-debated topic in the Philippines in recent years, particularly in schools and universities, where uniforms and dress codes are often strongly enforced. A growing number of institutions have adopted gender-neutral dress codes and uniforms, while the national government says it is studying creating a standard for gender-inclusive dress codes to promote equality.

In another positive development for LGBTQ Filipinos, Globe Telecom, one of the country’s largest mobile providers, has announced it will provide spousal benefits to same-sex partners of its employees. 

Same-sex couples have no legal recognition in the Philippines. A civil union bill has been proposed several times in Congress, but has never advanced.

LITHUANIA

Lithuania’s constitutional court struck down an “LGBT Propaganda” law this week, in a ruling that ought to bring relief to queer activists, publishers, and media outlets.

The “Law on the Protection of Minors,” which was passed in 2009, banned the promotion of sexual relations or non-traditional conceptions of marriage or family, and drew sharp criticism from queer and civil liberties groups across Europe. It has been used in attempts to ban Vilnius Pride and led broadcasters to restrict advertisements for queer events and causes. 

In one landmark case, government censors used the law to restrict distribution of books of children’s stories due to its depiction of two same-sex couples. That decision was eventually appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, which found last year that the law violated the European Convention’s guarantee of free expression.

Following the ruling, the previous government tried to repeal the law, but after its bill was voted down by parliament, the government filed this legal challenge to the constitutional court.

“Finally, we are normalizing the portrayal and life of our community, and I believe that LGBT youth will live a freer life,” Vladimiras Simonko, head of the Lithuanian Gay League, told LRT.

The court ruled that the law’s anti-LGBTQ sections were unconstitutional restrictions on free expression, and were also too vague, as they did not define what kinds of information disparage family values.   

The court also found that the implications of the law also unfairly narrow the definition of family found in the constitution.

Same-sex couples are not legally recognized in Lithuania. A bill to recognize civil unions was introduced by the previous government but awaits a final vote before it can be brought into law. The current government has not made passing the bill a priority.

CANADA

The province of New Brunswick has finally repealed regulations that required schools to notify parents and receive their consent if a student wishes to use a different name or pronoun in class, following a change in government in October.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, which had brought a legal challenge against the original policy, hailed the changes.

“We will discuss with our legal counsel and affected community groups, but expect that these changes will resolve legal issues in our constitutional challenge,” CCLA Director of Equality Programs Harini Sivalingam told CBC. 

The controversial regulation, known as Policy 713, was brought forward by the province’s previous Progressive Conservative Party government under former Premier Blaine Higgs. The regulation, which was introduced with limited consultation, led several of Higgs’ Cabinet ministers to resign in protest, and led the charge for provincial conservatives to campaign on anti-trans policies across Canada.

That strategy tended not to work for conservatives. In October, Higgs’s government was voted out in favor of the New Brunswick Liberals under Susan Holt, who had pledged to rescind the policy and ensure schools are welcoming for all LGBTQ students.

Similarly, Manitoba’s PC government was voted out in May after pledging to introduce a similar policy, and the British Columbia Conservatives lost their bid to replace the province’s NDP government in elections in October.

Still, Saskatchewan’s conservative government won reelection in October after introducing a similar policy earlier in the year, and Alberta’s conservative government just passed some of the most sweeping anti-transgender legislation Canada has seen in quite some time, including bans on classroom discussion of LGBTQ issues and participation in gender-appropriate sports.

Alberta’s anti-trans laws have already been challenged in court, but Saskatchewan’s government used a constitutional provision to prevent any legal challenges to its anti-trans laws for five years after an initial loss in court. 

But conservative governments in Ontario and Quebec, which had initially announced plans to introduce parent notification and consent rules for trans students, have yet to bring forward such policies or regulations.