A ruling in Japan advances transgender rights

 

Japan’s Supreme Court hearing the gender change case in Tokyo last month.Jiji Press, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A ruling in Japan advances transgender rights

Japan’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously yesterday that requiring transgender people to undergo sterilization in order to legally change their gender identity was unconstitutional. Activists welcomed the ruling as a step forward for L.G.B.T.Q. rights in a nation that has been slow to recognize them.

Still, the court did not rule on a separate requirement that transgender people must undergo transition surgery in order to legally register as the gender with which they identify. In practice, that means many transgender people will still be unable to make the legal change. The top court said it would send the case back to the High Court for further discussion of the transition surgery clause.