Unable to get married legally in Japan, LGBTQ couples are celebrating their special bond by donning traditional kimonos and fashionable formal wear for elaborate "photo weddings".
But these carefully choreographed images are often kept hidden in this conservative society where many LGBTQ people say they face prejudice and stigma, even from their own families.
Reuters spent eight months documenting photo weddings by studio Onestyle in Tokyo and neighbouring Yokohama. The couples spoke to Reuters and allowed their pictures to be taken on condition their identities were protected due to concerns they may face discrimination.
"Not everyone, like my parents or friends, know about our relationship. We thought it would be nice if we could leave a tangible memory just for the two of us," said a 40-year old female office worker who posed with her 35-year old partner in matching wedding dresses at a studio in Yokohama in November.
She said they had struggled to find a studio that would accommodate a same-sex couple for the shoot, which they did on the day they submitted an application to enter a partnership agreement with their local council.
Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations that does not recognise same-sex marriage or provide legal protections for LGBTQ people, despite polls showing public support and court rulings that have deemed its stance unconstitutional.
While hundreds of municipalities throughout Japan, covering more than 80% of the population, allow same-sex couples to enter into partnership agreements, their rights are limited.
Partners cannot inherit each others' assets or have parental rights to each others' children. Being able to visit their loved ones in hospital isn't even guaranteed.
The conservative government last year also struggled to pass a law meant to tackle discrimination against LGBTQ groups.
A 53-year-old office worker who suited up for a photo wedding at a chapel in Yokohama with his 45-year-old partner in February said attitudes toward LGBTQ people were shifting, but that society had not caught up.
"I don't know when that will be, but I think that one day it'd be so common that we don't even need to use terms like LGBTQ," he said.
GENERATIONAL DIVIDE
Established in 2015, Onestyle offers photo weddings for more than 2,000 couples a year, and up to 5% of them are people identifying as LGBTQ, founder Natsue Ikeda said.
"The photos will be our treasure," said a 32-year-old female graphic designer who took photos with her partner, a 33-year-old transgender man, at Onestyle's Tokyo studio in August last year.
"Even if we get hurt by online comments every day, we'd feel our lives would be alright because we've already got our photos taken," she added.
Even though some opinion polls show the majority of respondents support same-sex marriage being legalised, there is a clear generational difference in views.
A Fuji TV survey last year showed 91.4% of respondents in their late teens and 20s were in favour of same-sex marriage, whereas less than half of those aged 70 or older endorsed it.
"My mother told me she would want me to date a man and have a baby," said a 27-year-old genderqueer office worker who held a wedding shoot at a traditional garden in Yokohama in March with their partner, a 31-year-old female nurse.
"My grandmother warned me not tell my dad and other relatives I am dating a woman because they would think I'm a pervert," the person added.
The couple both wore kimonos and a pair of custom-made wedding rings featuring each others' DNA.
"In my mind, it is just that the person I naturally fell in love with was the same sex," the office worker said. "I think it is natural that there are people who do not understand this feeling, and I am not trying to force them to understand."
Some couples said they had been accepted by family members.
"My father had an aversion toward same-sex couples so I was nervous to tell him about living together with a woman," said a 33-year old woman who works in the service industry. "When I did, he accepted without hesitation."
The woman and her 32-year-old partner said they would give their wedding photos, taken in Tokyo in November, to their parents as gifts and they would also show their friends.
SLOW CHANGE
Changes are taking place in Japan, albeit slowly.
Facing pressure at home and abroad, Japan passed legislation last year meant to promote understanding of the LGBTQ community.
But the language was watered down from the original bill after push-back from conservative lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and critics say it provides no human rights guarantees.
In a landmark ruling in March, a high court said Japan's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. The ruling has been appealed to the Supreme Court.
Lower courts have also delivered mixed verdicts, with one district court holding the ban to be constitutional but others saying it is unconstitutional, to varying degrees.
An Ipsos poll this year found just 29% of respondents in Japan said they supported LGBT people being open about their sexual orientation or gender identity with everyone, the third lowest level of support among 26 countries surveyed.
Thailand and Spain topped the poll with 68% support, while Turkey had the lowest at 21%.
"Legal changes are nice, but they don't mean much if society as a whole doesn't start to normalise the existence of LGBTQ people," said a 46-year-old male office worker who posed for photos with his partner in matching blue traditional haori jackets in November.
© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024.
26 Comments
earsay
Good for them!
Keep up the fight and let's hope Japan catches up to the rest of the developed world soon!
owzer
Don’t want to normalize it because it’s not normal.
リッチ
so if your argument is valid, Japanese culture to keep women silent and home and submissive and a 2nd class citizen is okay because that is traditional Japanese values and normal, which is also stated in the western bible.
リッチ
Should mention in addition to Japanese people celebrating love in unique ways, which will begin about change eventually, they are being lead by Taiwan and Thailand who are welcoming society to its own people in Asia where legal marriage is celebrated. Love is Love. Let’s hope Japan can lead again in Asia and not continue to be followers. Especially when the average Japanese person welcomes Love.
tokyo_m
Japanese lesbian couple granted refugee status in Canada
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15271758
Tim Sullivan
The LDP is looking for ways to hold on to power when they get rid of Kishida. How about a gay PM?
Roger Gusain
How about a gay PM?
Great idea, but it's not going to happen with the LDP (Japan's version of the Taliban).
Ben Bumphart
The LDP is looking for ways to hold on to power when they get rid of Kishida. How about a gay PM?
Taro Aso is one possibility, but he will have to come out first.
kurisupisu
When I get frustrated I don’t start having pics taken….
Jeremiah
Something can only be banned if it actually exists. Marriage is the union of a man and a woman, an objective reality. Non-marital relationships are not marriages (which is a redundant phrase yet true).
Garthgoyle
Well, that's not very far from the true. And more to it, that is part an integral part of Japanese culture. Since Japan does have a shaming culture.
Eastmann
ok why we have to care?
/dev/random
You don't. Social media would never tell you that, but It's perfectly fine not to have an opinion on something.
Shadows of the Rising Sun
What racism or even 'hate speech' are you referring to because this is just stating some facts about Japan?
Are you clear about what racism means?
Hawk
What a nice idea, albeit a shame that it is necessary for them. I hope they can get photos of their actual wedding ceremony one day. Good luck to them.
kaimycahl
LMFAO the survey was taken by Fuji says that late teens and 20's favor same sex, since when did that age group opinion matter they aren't old enough to vote or drink!! Now all of a sudden their opinion counts?
A Fuji TV survey last year showed 91.4% of respondents in their late teens and 20s were in favor of same-sex marriage, whereas less than half of those aged 70 or older endorsed it.
owzer
In Japan, arranging an actual wedding ceremony is indeed feasible and completely legal, which is wonderful for couples wishing to celebrate their union.
I support the idea of same-sex couples having wedding ceremonies and legal unions that grant them essential rights like tax benefits and hospital visitation. However, I am opposed to calling these unions "marriage." While they should certainly have the ability to form a legal union and receive various benefits, I believe that adopting children and using the term "marriage" should be reserved for traditional unions. What same-sex couples have is something different, and it's important to use a term that accurately describes their situation to avoid confusion.
mountainbear
Can you explain what is racist about this comment or do you just throw around the word when someone says something critical about Japan that you don't like?
Criticism is not 'racism', by the way.
Hawk
Cool. Not much point if you're not legally married afterwards, though. Like buying a Ferrari but not being allowed to drive it. And it's not the only reason these couples feel unable to do that, either: "But these carefully choreographed images are often kept hidden in this conservative society where many LGBTQ people say they face prejudice and stigma, even from their own families."
I disagree with your opinion regarding terminology, but you're entitled to it.
Jonathan Prin
I love several women.
What union are you proposing me ? Multi marriage ?
There is an obvious reason why marriage is sacred and defined this way.
It does not mean we cannot celebrate with a party all unions people wish but please respect laws until it changes.
owzer
I wish more people were equally capable of disagreeing without resorting to name calling, shaming or otherwise demeaning behavior. Well done, Hawk! Have an upvote!
carpslidy
Why not just have wedding?
Weddings in Japan hold no legal status.
/dev/random
A limited liability company.
That's the idea.
Hawk
Well, we could bicker back and forth about it but I don't think either of us will convince the other. Our opinions aren't that far apart anyway. Enjoy your evening.
Pukey2
What is there to accomodate? They're there to take photos, not poke their nose into people's private affairs.
Bible preaching isn't a thing in Japan, unless you exclude those annoying people who knock on your doors.
Is it so difficult to say lesbian?
owzer:
Bigotry and hatred isn't normal either.
/dev/random
They are not the same thing: One concerns the gender identity, the other the sexual orientation.