Japan Press Weekly

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2023 July 12 - 18 TOP3 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Top court: Restriction on transgender employee’s use of restrooms illegal

In a lawsuit filed by a transgender female worker at the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry who claimed that the ministry’s restriction on her use of women restrooms is illegal, the Supreme Court on July 11 issued a ruling in favor of the plaintiff.

This is the first top court decision regarding the working environment for sexual minorities including LGBTQ people.

Following the ruling, the plaintiff in her 50s, who lives as a woman but was classified a male at birth, and her legal team held a press conference in Tokyo.

Welcoming the court ruling, the woman said that this ruling can be used as a tool to deal with workplace discrimination against sexual minorities.

Lawyer Tateishi Yuka noted that the ruling stated that it is in everyone’s best interest to create a society which accepts gender diversity. She appreciated that the court took seriously the severe discrimination and prejudice transgender people are experiencing in Japan.

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Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira later on the day at a press conference in response to a request for a comment on the Supreme Court ruling said that it is significant that the top court recognized that discriminatory treatment of LGBTQ + individuals at work is unacceptable.