Monthly Archives November 2015

My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame, who is widely known as a gay bondage manga artist, received Excellence Award in the manga division at The 19th Japan Media Art Festival.

On November 27th, The 19th Japan Media Art Festival Executive Committee announced award-winners and My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame received Excellence Award in the manga division. My Brother’s Husband written and illustrated by Gengoro Tagame, who is highly acclaimed as “master of gay erotic arts,” is a serialized manga in a magazine called Monthly Action Comics. A Canadian gay, Mike, who is Yaichi’s younger brother’s husband named Ryoji, visited Yaichi and Yaichi’s daughter, Kana after the death of Ryoji. My Brother’s Husband caused a big sensation in Japan. In book form, you can read a manga column, “Mike’s Gay
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Major domestic insurance companies including Lifenet Insurance Co. announced they will expand their coverage with same-sex couples.

On October 29th, Lifenet Insurance Co. announced that same-sex couples will be allowed to designate their same-sex partners as their beneficiaries and receive proceeds after the death of their policy holders from November 4th. With an interview, if needed, and the submission of documents confirming the two are in a relationship and lives together, same-sex couples can choose their partners as beneficiaries of life insurance. There are some requirements which have to be met such as the length of living together, however, Lifenet Insurance Co. acknowledges them as couples anywhere in Japan.(Certificates issued by Shibuya ward and Setagaya ward are
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Setagaya Ward now issues partnership documents to same-sex couples. 

On November 5th, Setagaya Ward started accepting applications and issuing partnership certificates to same-sex couples. The mayor of Setagaya Ward handed partnership certificates to five same-sex couples. “I hereby certify that your relationship with your partner is equivalent to marriage. I wish for you great happiness together.” Some of the couples were crying with joy. According to Setagaya Ward Office, another two couples submitted the application on that day. In total, seven couples were issued with partnership certificates on the first day. One of the couples, Tsukasa Nakagawa, a photographer, and Yukiya Terai, a cooking specialist, told the reporters that
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Japan’s first partnership documents to same-sex couples in Shibuya. 

On November 5th, 2015, Shibuya Ward started to issue certificates recognizing same-sex couples as “equal to marriage.” Hiroko Masuhara and Koyuki Higashi became the first officially recognized same-sex couple in Japan. Ms.Masuhara and Ms.Higashi ,who had already applied for the partnership document on October 28th, visited the ward office right after it opened at 8:30 a.m. and received the certificate. “The contact person said to us ‘Congratulations! May the rest of your days be filled with happiness.’ I am really happy that our city recognizes us as family. With this certificate, I would like to try new things that we
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