SNA (Tokyo) — The Supreme Court ruled that a law requiring surgery to remove a person’s reproductive capabilities to register a gender change was unconstitutional, but it upheld a requirement, at least temporarily, for transgender people to undergo surgery that alters the physical appearance of genitals.

The Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation issued a statement in the wake of the ruling which declared that it “welcomes this decision to a certain extent as making the sterility requirement unconstitutional. This will greatly improve the lives of those who newly meet the requirements of the special law. We would also like to pay tribute to those involved in making this decision. On the other hand, [discriminatory legal] issues still remain.”

Taiga Ishikawa, a prominent advocate of LGBT rights in the House of Councillors, argued that, now that the courts are making progress, it was time for lawmakers to follow suit.

“Looking forward, it’s our turn as the legislature to create laws which can respond properly.”

The law which has just been judged to be partially unconstitutional, the Act on Special Cases in Handling Gender Status for Persons with Gender Identity Disorder, was passed during the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and came into force in July 2004. Since that time, nearly 12,000 individuals have met its requirements to change their legal gender, including the surgery which rendered them sterile.

This article was originally published on October 30, 2023, in the “Japan and the World” newsletter. Become a Shingetsu News supporter on Patreon and receive the newsletter by email each Monday morning.