Japan has yet to legalise gay marriage, leaving it out of step with all other G7 countries and even a former colony, Taiwan
, a genre of erotic woodblock prints, teems with all manner of sexuality. Anti-gay sentiment is in contrast a relatively modern import from the West.
But it has become a strong social convention, making life hard for those who do not conform. In workplaces, colleagues make demeaning jokes. Like many gay and transgender Japanese, Aiko's partner has not come out to her colleagues. In schools, gay children are often bullied. When Aiko and her partner bought an apartment last year, they could not find a bank to issue a mortgage to same-sex partners.
Yet several forces favour change. Support for same-sex marriage is very strong among Japanese in their 20s and 30s; more than 80% back it.
Finally, progress elsewhere—especially in Taiwan—is expanding the boundaries of the possible. Taiwanese activists’ use of courts to put pressure on legislators inspired the lawyers of Japan’s “Marriage for All” movement, says Takeharu Kato, who represented Aiko in Sapporo. Although local courts cannot force a change in national laws, “we hope the local verdicts will push the Diet,” says Mr Takeharu. If it does not act, the lawyers plan to appeal up to the Supreme Court, which could eventually force the Diet to legislate. In the meantime, the verdicts offer symbolic succour. Hearing the court declare the prohibition on gay marriage unconstitutional was “almost like a dream for me”, Aiko says. The case even helped sway her parents.
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