Japan Supreme Court declares sterilization requirement for legal recognition of transgender people unconstitutional

Oct 26, 2023 | News On Japan

TOKYO - The Supreme Court of Japan ruled Wednesday that a law requiring transgender people to be sterilized in order to legally change their gender was unconstitutional.

The case was decided unanimously by all fifteen justices hearing the case, and the law requiring sterilization of transgender individuals is now struck down.

Previously, since its introduction in 2004, the law governing how to legally change your gender in Japan was constructed of many steps. The Gender Identity Disorder Special Cases Act states that anyone who appeals to a family court to legally change their gender must: undergo a psychiatric evaluation, “have a physical form that is endowed with genitalia that closely resemble the physical form of an alternative gender,” and be surgically sterilized.

This last requirement was successfully challenged by a transgender woman in the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The Supreme Court held that the existing law “constitutes a significant constraint on freedom from invasive procedures” and thus violates the Japanese Constitution. The court further stated, “The suffering that [transgender people] face in terms of gender is also of concern to society that is supposed to embrace diversity in gender identity.” ...continue reading

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