Japan court declares requiring transgender sterilisation ‘unconstitutional’

Japan’s highest court has declared that a rule which forced transgender individuals to undergo sterilization before obtaining legal recognition is against the constitution. This ruling is considered a significant achievement for Japan’s LGBTQ community after many years of fighting for their rights.

Under a law made 20 years ago, transgender people who want to change their official documents must have been diagnosed with a condition called “gender identity disorder. ” They must also be at least 18 years old, not married, and not have any children under the age of 18.

They also need to have private parts that look like the opposite sex and cannot have children. This means that they had to go through surgery and sterilization.

The law has been criticized by rights groups for a while. In the past, attempts to challenge it in court were not successful. However, in this case, a transgender woman wanted to change her legal gender from male to female without having surgery and she is challenging the law.

The person who brought the lawsuit claimed that taking hormones for a long time had already affected her ability to have children, according to NHK.

Before going to the Supreme Court, a lower court and a higher court did not accept her case. On Monday, the court decided she won the case because the rule making sterilization necessary broke the law of the country.

The limit on keeping people safe from physical harm is not needed anymore and is now more severe. So, the court said that the rule is not needed or fair.

The text means that reproductive rights are seen as very important human rights according to the constitution. The decision said that it is unkind that they have to go through a procedure to remove their ability to have babies without wanting to, just so that they can legally be the gender they identify as.

According to NHK, the recent decision made by the Supreme Court of Japan is significant because it is only the 12th time since World War II that the court has declared a law as unconstitutional. This means that the parliament of Japan now needs to reconsider the law.

But, that doesn’t mean the entire law is being altered – just the part that says people need to be sterilized.

The country’s highest court decided not to make a final decision on whether transgender people should have reproductive organs that look like the opposite gender’s. They believe it is allowed by the constitution. According to a ruling on Monday, the part of the case will be sent back to a lower court to think about it. The ruling also said that the rule does not directly force transgender people to have surgery.

Some people in the LGBTQ community were happy and celebrated the ruling, but there were also worries about the need for more surgeries and how society might react.

During a press conference, the lawyer for the person who filed the lawsuit, Kazuyuki Minami, shared a statement from that person. The statement expressed their immense surprise due to the unexpected judgment.

“I am sad that the Grand Chamber of Justice did not approve my gender change and that the case has been delayed,” she said in the statement. However, she also said, “I am happy that this case will lead to a positive result. ”

The lawyer, Minami, said that not many judgments say that current laws are against the constitution, so this ruling is very important. But he also said it’s frustrating that the plaintiff didn’t get the outcome they wanted.

Ken Suzuki, a law professor who focuses on LGBTQ matters at Meijin University in Japan, said that the court’s decision was incomplete. He mentioned that the LGBTQ community is still waiting for the lower court to determine if they will need additional surgeries to have genitals that look like those of the opposite gender.

“However, it brings them optimism,” he said, describing it as a “groundbreaking decision. ” “A lot of people can see that the judges have shown a strong interest in the subject. ”

The LGBT Law Coalition, a group that supports laws for people with sexual orientation and gender identity difficulties, praised the decision. They also expressed their hope that the Supreme Court would make a fair decision on the other requirements for transgender individuals.

The organization is really sorry about the recent unfair treatment of transgender people. This includes many transgender people feeling anxious and scared when they try to use the bathroom they feel comfortable in.

During the summer, the Supreme Court made a decision against a government agency. This agency had stopped a transgender employee from using the women’s bathroom. It was the first time the court addressed the rights of sexual minorities at work.

Many people in Japan have traditional beliefs about LGBTQ issues. Although some polls indicate a change in attitudes, activists argue that discrimination is still common. For example, Japan is the only country in the Group of Seven (G7) that does not have laws to protect same-sex unions.

This spring, the government faced more and more pressure to create a law that supports the LGBTQ community. This was because they were going to host the G7 leaders’ summit in May. However, there were disagreements about the bill, so it was only given to parliament the day before the summit started.

At the end, the approved bill was not as strong as activists wanted. It didn’t include any guarantees for human rights and some people worry that it may indirectly support discrimination.