By Hiromi Sasamoto,
Daily Yomiuri - Japan

Same-sex marriages test social tolerance of diverse lifestyles and individual orientation, and Japan fails the test dismally. Gay activists and others gave a damning verdict of the nation's attitude to homosexuality. Ignorance and prejudice against homosexuality are so strong that the existence of a gay community in Japan is virtually denied. Acceptance of gay marriages, therefore, are socially unacceptable, according to Masayuki Tanamura, professor of law at Waseda University.

Japan's situation contrasts sharply with that of Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Iceland and other like-minded countries, where gay marriages have been legalized or where gay couples are offered almost the same rights and protection as heterosexual couples by registering their partnership with the authorities.

According to the Justice Ministry, people of the same sex are denied the right to marry by Article 24 of the Constitution, which defines marriage as a union of two people of the opposite sex. Despite its insistence that its hands are tied on the issue, the ministry's prevailing attitude has been one of indifference, rather than outright opposition.

A ministry spokesman acknowledged that the issue has never been discussed internally.

"I assume gay marriages are impossible because of the socially accepted concept of what a marriage is," he said.

The statement was an example of the general attitude toward gays and lesbians. In a survey of 3,000 people conducted by a leading daily last year, only 27 percent said they "understand" homosexuality, while 65 percent said they did not.

Marriage is one of the most deeply entrenched social institutions, from which gay people are excluded as a minority, according to Masaki Inaba, director of advocacy at OCCUR (formally, Japan Association for the Lesbian and Gay Movement), a 350-member gay and lesbian rights organization based in Nakano Ward, Tokyo.

"The existing legal system is like a fortress surrounding heterosexual couples, regardless of whether they are legally married or not," Inaba said.

Married couples are entitled to various preferential measures and a spouse is fully protected in social security, taxation and inheritance. For instance, a spouse can receive a survivor's pension. The couple can also more easily qualify for tax concessions.

And a spouse in a common-law marriage is often entitled to similar privileges. But this de facto spouse status is denied to gay couples. Because of discrimination * both institutionalized and socially ingrained * gay couples are forced to endure significant uncertainty, he said.

Inaba outlined the dilemma faced by gay people. To assert their rights in society, he said, they have to object, but "coming out" carries with it the risk of losing their jobs or destroying relationships with parents and friends as they may become socially ostracized.

When Inaba told his parents he was gay four years ago, his father reacted with fury and his mother cried.

"To bring a complaint about discrimination to court, you need legal and social support. But we do not have this support. It's simply unrealistic," he said. Not one lawyer is a self-declared homosexual.

Tanamura believes that gay marriages should be given due recognition and the partners should have rights if they have committed themselves to each other. This can be done by expanding the definition of a common-law marriage without revising the Constitution, he said. Such a flexible definition of marriage will become increasingly important as the traditional concept of what constitutes a family continues to evolve, he said. Producing and bringing up children is not always the purpose of marriage, as some couples now choose not to have children and more marriages between elderly people are being recorded.

Tanamura questioned the definition of marriage. "How many heterosexual couples can say that their bond is stronger than bonds between gay people?"

There are signs of change in society toward a better understanding of homosexuality and sexual issues, gradual though they may be.

In a landmark ruling last year, the Tokyo High Court ordered the Tokyo metropolitan government to compensate Inaba's group for refusing them access to a public educational facility in 1990.

"The refusal was unjust and constituted discrimination against gay people, which was illegal," the ruling said.

Sexual taboos are also gradually eroding, helping the public come to see sexuality as being more deeply associated with one's identity than its appearance.

Two months ago, Saitama Medical College conducted the nation's first sex-change operation on a woman in her 30s, after the school's ethics committee concluded that such surgery was "legitimate treatment."

"Unlike older generations who tried to hide their sexuality, gay people in their 30s and 20s are trying to find their way with a more positive gay self-identity," Inaba said.