Lesbian marriage to Japanese girlfirend

I am reposting my message because I got no notification that it was posted on the board.


I have a Japanese long-term girlfriend (we are in a lesbian relationship which I hope does not offend anyone).
We would like to get married, but I have no clue whether our marriage would be valid on a national level if we get married in my home country (where lesbian marriage is legal).
As we have no friends in similar situation, I thought to ask here.
My girlfriend would like get married, but at the same time she seems to think in Japan it is "impossible" and even though she likes the idea, she is not really pushing for it very hard.
I understand societal pressure in Japan is high, so I would like to hear from similar couples, did you get married in Japan and how was your marriage accepted?


Best regards
C.O.

Same-sex marriage is not legal in Japan. So even if you are married legally in your country, you will be treated as two single individuals in Japan. Personally, I don't see that changing anytime soon in Japan.

Hi!

I do not live in Japan nor am I lesbian, however even if you can't get legally married in Japan you can have a ceremony/reception there. When I was looking at the Hotel Granvia Kyoto website, they had a huge English advertisement about their gay wedding ceremony packages which includes a Buddhist ceremony in a temple and a honeymoon suite. So while it might not be legal, if you legally marry in your home country, you could have a ceremony and reception in Japan.

I wish you and your girlfriend the best.

Your marriage won't be recognized in Japan, but there are some cities/wards that do give same-sex partnership certificates (but are only valid within that city/ward). Off the top of my head: Shibuya and Setagaya in Tokyo, Takarazuka in Hyogo, Naha in Okinawa. There are more but I can't remember right now.

What this means is that you can get married in your country, but that won't be recognized in Japan. But if you live in any of those places, you can at least get the certificate which gives you some rights you would not have otherwise (again, only within that city). It's not the same as marriage but it's better than nothing.

Also, check out this article about some people who successfully got visas for their same-sex partners:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2015/06/10/issues/foreign-sex-c...

Good luck!!

The Japanese law is not recognizing same sex marriage, which I also believe will not change soon.
Although you are living long together you will not have the option for any visa unless work related or other types of visa which are possible.

The certification not legally binding, hospitals and businesses such as real estate firms within the certain area are requested to treat certificate holders in the same way as married couples. But again this not binding.

I wish this would change soon

I'm not a lesbian myself, but I have a friend who tied the knot as a lesbian.
There are a few ways to be along with same-sex partner legally even though it's not "marriage".
A)養子縁組 (adoption) and B)任意後見契約 (voluntary guardian contract) are major ones as far as I know.

A)養子縁組 is literally adoption.
In Japan, even adults can be an adopted child.
You two will get the same rights about each other as a parent and a child. You two are recognized as "family" and rights of family are similar to those of couple.
This works only when your Japanese partner is older than you. If you are older, you need to follow your country's law.

B)後見制度 (guardian system) is usually for those who aren't able to make decisions properly for some reason like disability or age. Guardian has right to decide things instead of the guarded.
任意後見契約 can be set above blood relationship. Only if you select each other as a guardian, in case your partner needs a critical decision but she can't do it because she's unconscious or something, you can do it instead of her.
This kind of contracts can be official by being made as 公正証書 (authentic document). 公正証書 can be authorized at 公証人役場 (notary office).

I think the district of Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, is most advanced when it comes to same-sex marriage in Japan. Details are written here:
https://www.city.shibuya.tokyo.jp/kusei/shisaku/lgbt/partnership.html

As written in the link, there is also a number you can call to consult about LGBT matters:
http://www.shibu-cul.jp/other#link_other01

In short, it is possible for lesbian couples to obtain a certificate proving they are significant to each other. But since same-sex marriage is yet to be legally recognized in Japan, the certificate does not actually provide you advantages that married couples would have, such as spouse tax deduction.

You can find out more by Googling keywords like "lesbian, LGBT, marriage" etc. Here's some.
https://www.google.com/search?q=LGBT+%E7%B5%90%E5%A9%9A&source=lnms&tb...