Japan Press Weekly

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2023 October 25 - 31 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Supreme Court rules surgery requirements for gender change as unconstitutional

The 15-member Grand Bench of the Supreme Court on October 25 unanimously ruled that a legal provision requiring transgender individuals, who seek gender changes on family registers, to undergo an operation to remove reproductive organs violates Article 13 of the Constitution stipulating respect to individuals’ dignity, and invalidated the provision.

This case was filed by a person living in western Japan who was born as a male and wanted a gender change on the family registry.

Later on the day, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo asked by reporters for a comment in the Diet building said, “The top court ruling is significant as it recognizes that it is a natural right to decide over one’s own body.”

Shii pointed out that the top court’s judgement accords with the global trend toward respecting each individual’s gender identity as a human right. He said, “The JCP, based on this judgement, will work hard to revise the existing law regarding people with gender identity disorder.”