A Japanese high court has approved a legal gender change for a transgender woman without requiring gender-affirming surgery, a move that LGBTQ groups on Thursday called a mixed victory.
According to current law, transgender people in Japan who want to change their gender on official documents must be diagnosed with gender dysphoria and undergo sex reassignment surgery.
On Wednesday, the Hiroshima High Court ruled that this requirement is possibly unconstitutional, marking a shift in how gender issues are addressed in Japan.
The claimant, a woman in her late 40s from western Japan, was assigned male at birth. Her request to change her gender on official documents was previously denied by lower courts. She argued through her lawyers that the surgery requirement imposes significant economic and physical burdens and violates the constitution’s protection of equal rights.
In October of last year, the Supreme Court declared the sterilization requirement unconstitutional and sent the case back to the High Court, instructing it to reconsider if the claimant could avoid the surgery, an issue it had not addressed earlier.
The High Court noted that hormonal therapy had sufficiently feminized the claimant’s body, including her genitalia, without surgery. This decision now allows her gender in official records to match her identity.
Kazuyuki Minami, one of her lawyers, said she cried with relief when he informed her of the ruling over the phone.
On Thursday, the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation stated that the Hiroshima ruling is progress as it could allow transgender women to change their legal gender without surgery. However, they noted that the ruling does not include those who cannot take hormones and pledged to continue fighting against discrimination.
This decision comes at a time of increased awareness of LGBTQ issues in Japan. The ruling that permits the claimant’s legal gender change without surgery could be particularly beneficial for transgender women, whose gender-affirming care often faces more controversy. However, unlike the Supreme Court’s ruling, the High Court’s decision is not legally binding.
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