Japan Upholds Law Requiring Sterilization for Transgender People

Japan has decided to uphold its current policy of requiring transgender people to get sterilized before officially changing their gender.

A law was passed in 2004 saying that anyone requesting a gender change on official documents must have their original reproductive organs removed so that they “appear to have parts that resemble the genital organs” of the gender they wish to be seen as.

Takakito Usui challenged the law, wanting to be officially recognized as male though he had not undergone any of the required surgeries.

“The essential thing should not be whether you have had an operation or not, but how you want to live as an individual,” he said.

Japan’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of maintaining the law, calling it constitutional because they claim the purpose is to reduce confusion in families and society.

The law also requires people wishing to legally update their gender to be single and have no children younger than the age of 20.

The HRC blasted the decision, saying that the ruling was “incompatible with international human rights standards, goes against the times and deviates far from best global practices.”

While all four judges on the panel agreed that the current law is constitutional, two of those judges suggested the law should be reviewed in the future, leaving hope that it could still be overturned sooner rather than later.

“I think the ruling could lead to a next step,” Usui said.