The mayors of some of Tokyo's 23 special wards are urging the Japanese government to grant same-sex couples greater rights, such as health insurance coverage for dependents.
Among the wards, Setagaya and Nakano launched initiatives in November to register the relationships of same-sex couples in the same way as for common-law couples, if the partners take an oath under Tokyo metropolitan and ward government rules.
Still, these steps do not directly lead to greater social security privileges for same-sex couples.
"It's essential to enshrine same-sex marriage in law," said Suginami Mayor Satoko Kishimoto, who is asking the central government to treat it in the same way as common-law marriage.
Kishimoto and nine other ward mayors jointly submitted a request to the central government earlier this month, asking it to consider reviewing same-sex partners' rights and related systems.
On the other hand, Shinjuku Mayor Kenichi Yoshizumi has voiced reservations, saying that a marriage relationship involves obligations and responsibilities such as dependency and inheritance, including liabilities, in addition to legal protections and rights.
"I want to closely observe whether (systems for same-sex couples) would include rules similar" to those for common-law couples, Yoshizumi said.
Discussions on greater rights for same-sex couples have not deepened at the national level despite recent court rulings saying that said Japan's same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional.
Adachi Mayor Yayoi Kondo is one of the ward mayors who submitted the joint request to the central government.
"I thought about what each local government could do to be there for those affected, albeit in small ways," Kondo said.
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