Japan grants long-term visa to US man in same-sex marriage
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Mr Andrew High met his Japanese partner, known only as Kohei, in 2004 in the US, where they later got married in 2015.
PHOTO: LILA’S LIFE IN TOKYO/FACEBOOK
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Japan approved a long-term visa for an American man legally married in the United States to a Japanese man, a step towards reform as the East Asian country remains the only Group of Seven (G-7) member that does not recognise same-sex marriages.
Mr Andrew High was granted the designated activities visa, Kyodo reported, allowing him to live in Japan for up to a year and also take up some paid work.
The decision made last Friday was hailed as a “breakthrough” move by his representative.
“The decision was made on a case-by-case basis, but it should be established as part of the system,” his representative told Kyodo.
According to the two men’s website, Mr High met his Japanese partner, known only as Kohei, in 2004 in the US, where they later got married in 2015.
Mr High, a former software developer at a US university, is expected to continue fighting for a more permanent residency status, which would also allow him greater freedom to pursue work opportunities.
The visa approval marks the latest development amid ongoing court battles between Mr High and the Japanese government, which he sued in 2019 to demand the same long-term residence rights that a foreign heterosexual spouse would get.
Mr Kohei had also filed a separate suit in 2019 demanding 11 million yen (S$111,000) in damages from the Japanese government, with the couple’s lawyer saying then that it infringes “their right to have a family life”.
Foreign nationals married to Japanese citizens in heterosexual marriages can remain in Japan by applying for long-term residence status, according to Japanese law, but those in same-sex marriages officiated overseas are barred from that route.
Japan is alone among the G-7 major democracies in not having a legal system for same-sex unions, a fact that has drawn consternation from activists and politicians in its partner countries as it prepares to host a G-7 summit in Hiroshima in May.
The country’s Constitution states that marriage is a union between partners of different sexes, wording that Japan’s leading opposition party has proposed amending.
Last November, a court in Tokyo upheld a ban on same-sex marriages
