Conservatives are protesting a proposed initiative by Tokyo's Shibuya Ward to acknowledge same-sex partnerships as equivalent to marriage, claiming it would upset traditional family values and hurt the nation's birthrate.
A Tokyo-based citizens' group submitted a petition on Wednesday to Shibuya Mayor Toshitake Kuwahara demanding that the proposal be withdrawn.
The same-sex initiative, tabled last month, is the centerpiece of a comprehensive draft statute on gender equality that the ward submitted to the municipal assembly last week for deliberation.
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