According to The Mainichi, Japan’s Opposition Party plans to introduce legislation on same-sex marriage to parliament this year.  This could either take the form of amendments to existing marriage legislation or the introduction of a separate structure for same-sex partners with equivalent benefits.

Whilst same-sex marriage does not yet exist anywhere in Asia, Thailand’s cabinet has very recently approved legislation for a same-sex partnership structure and it is hoped that Taiwan will comply with a Court ruling and introduce same-sex marriage later this year. In addition, a recent legal challenge has been made in Hong Kong, by a same-sex couple to claim their right to marry, and which has been given permission to proceed.

We recently reported that a couple in Japan plan to get married in multiple locations to highlight the fact that Japan currently does not allow them to marry.

It is good to see yet another positive development on LGBT equality in the region!