“Breaking news: Japanese high court makes landmark decision, approving gender change for a transgender woman without surgery requirement. A rare victory for transgender rights in Japan.”
A Japanese high court approved a transgender woman’s change of gender identity Friday without requiring her to undergo the currently required gender-affirming surgery as per Japan gender change law. LGBGQ+ groups earlier today labelled it a mixed victory. Under Japanese law, a transgender person should be diagnosed with gender dysmorphia and must undergo an operation. Therefore, it will alter the gender assigned at birth for official documents.
A rare decision that challenges the country’s gender confirmation laws
Wednesday, the Hiroshima High Court overturned a ruling. Hence they preemptively declared the current requirement to be possibly unconstitutional. Additionally, they showed a change in how Japan is dealing with gender issues.
The claimant, who is only identified as a resident of western Japan in her late 40s, was assigned male at birth. Her request to legally change the gender in her documents had been rejected by lower courts. The hormonal therapy alone had sufficiently feminized the claimant’s body, including genitalia, rendering the surgery unnecessary, the court said.
Judgment was ruled for the case of the plaintiff
Wednesday’s decision now permits the claimant to have official records that match her gender identity.
Her lawyer said that she cried in relief when he called her to deliver the news of the ruling personally.
Lawyers, however, said the decision as per Japan gender change law to accept the change from male to female in the family registry—something very rare in Japan—was a highly unusual step. Japanese law virtually requires those who want to change their gender to alter their physical appearance to resemble those of the opposite gender through surgery.
[…] Japanese novel No Longer Human was published in 1948 by Osamu Dazai. According to Donald Keene, in his preface to the […]