What is at the End of the Rainbow? : Prospects and Challenges for Sexual Minorities in Japan

2015 marked a cornerstone for sexual minorities in Japan, as Setagaya and Shibuya wards of the city of Tokyo introduced a certificate system to recognize same sex partnership as equivalent to marriage since November 2015. While such endeavours have increased awareness and recognition of sexual minorities in Japan as well as paved the road for unprecedented discussion on equality, it does not address the more prolonging and serious issues such as equality in the job place, equal rights, and human rights issue. This article will examine and explore the legal status of sexual minorities in Japan, more specifically the court cases and legal debates concerning sexual minorities, the framework of the new same-sex partnership certificate system, and the positions of the main political parties in Japan toward the rights of sexual minorities