Asia

Act on the Promotion of Public Understanding of Diversity in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (LGBT Understanding Promotion Act)

The Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (the “SHPA”) aims to prevent sexual harassment and protect the rights of victims. It empowers and places a positive obligation on governmental authorities to, among other things, draft and implement sexual harassment prevention policies and regulations, specify standards, investigate and mediate disputed sexual harassment cases, and promote education and awareness on sexual harassment prevention.

Person X1 transitioned from female to male. X1 registered as a male and married a woman, X2, in 2008. In 2009, X2 bore a child. In 2012, X1 applied to have the family registry reflect that X1 was the child’s father and that the child was born while X1 and X2 were married. The ward mayor in charge of changes to family registries held that there was a problem with the application because Article 774 of the Civil Law was inapplicable to the child’s situation as the child was not related by blood to X1.

On May 20, 2014, the defendant used a hammer to strike her husband’s head three times. She then asked her son to send her husband to hospital where he died. The Court found that throughout their marriage, the deceased often beat and abused the defendant. The day before the incident, the deceased beat the defendant for a long period of time. At approximately 5:30 AM the following day, the defendant, due to the history of abuse, decided to kill her husband. During the trial, multiple witnesses testified to the deceased’s long history of domestic violence.

Under Article 14 of the Japanese Constitution, “all citizens of Japan are equal under the law, and shall not be discriminated against in political, economic or social relations on the basis of sex.”  Article 24 of the Constitution states that marriage can only be formed through the mutual consent of both sexes, and it must be maintained through mutual cooperation of husband and wife.

The Penal Code (the “Code”) covers Japanese criminal law and sentencing.  The relevant provisions with respect to gender justice issues in the Code are Rape, Gang Rape, Forcible Indecency, and Inducement to Promiscuous Intercourse.  Rape was initially classified as a crime only involving female victims, but was amended to include men in 2017.

The Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Cases regarding Crimes of Trafficking in Women and Children (The “Trafficking Crimes Interpretation”) defines terms and interprets rules in the Criminal Law related to trafficking in women. This interpretation guides legal practitioners in addressing recent developments in trafficking-related crimes.

Supreme Court of Japan, Heisei 25 (O) No. 1079 Damages Claim Case

Supreme Court of Japan, Heisei 26 (O) No. 1023 Damages Claim Case

The Law on Protection of Minors was enacted to protect the physical and mental health of minors and to ensure their legal rights and interests. Article 3 of the Law stipulates that minors shall have the right to survival, development, protection, and participation and that minors, regardless of gender, shall enjoy these rights equally under the law.