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 they are going to hold a wedding. The couple said “I honestly felt ‘I wanna get married!’ when I found my love and decided to live together for the rest of my life.” “After I received the certificate, I felt some kind of hope that something new is going to happen.” “I really hope this movement will spread across Japan.”

Another couple, Sachiko Takano, a sign-language instructor, and Yumiko Takashima, a sign-language interpreter, who has been living together for seventeen years talked to the reporters. “We went through a lot of difficulties when we visited real estate firms and when I couldn’t sign a surgical consent form because the hospital didn’t acknowledge our relationship and I was just her friend, not her family member. But, I hope a better understanding of LGBT people will be achieved with this certificate. We’ve been together for years .I really appreciate Setagaya Ward for finally and officially recognizing us as a family.”

Furuya Mitsue, a hair stylist, who has been living with her younger partner for six years, said “LGBT rights have never been acknowledged. Recognition at ward level is still a huge step. I couldn’t wait for this day to come.”

The mayor of Setagaya Ward also told those five same-sex couples “What I handed to you is just a mere piece of paper. It is not legally binding.”

Then, he gave some examples of LGBT social campaigns happened in the Netherlands from the late 80’s to early 2000’s. People started from establishing legally non-binding systems at ward and city level and finally succeeded in legalizing same-sex marriage in 2001.”This is a small first step. But, I would like to make this certificate’s power much bigger and hope it leads to national movements. I would like to start from educational institutions and businesses here in Setagaya Ward.”

Aya Kamikawa, a ward councilor, who led and supported this partnership campaign told the reporters that the partnership certificate “will shed a light on same-sex couples and issues surrounding them.” “Although enactment of partnership system is very difficult, any municipality can start it in ‘Setagaya Ward’ way.”

If you are 20 or over in a same-sex relationship based on trust and either of you lives or is planning to move to Setagaya Ward, you can receive a partnership certificate after submitting an application with your names and home addresses on it. The application will be held in Setagaya Ward Office for ten years and you can nullify it whenever both of you agree. It is not legally binding, but since it is an officially issued certificate, you can use it to prevent unnecessary difficulties in hospital and in real estate firms. Mobile phone carriers such as KDDI and NTT docomo, and Akusa Life Insurance Co. announced that they are going to accept partnership certificates issued by Setagaya Ward as well as the partnership certificates issued by Shibuya Ward as a proof of family relationship.

2015/11/06