Japanese Court: Sterilization as Criteria for Gender Status Change Unconstitutional

In Japan, legal gender status can only be changed following surgery and sterilization. A court decision now calls this unconstitutional.

By Himari Semans

Major news for the transgender community in Japan, as a rule long considered inhumane has been challenged by a local court.

Japan requires transgender people to fulfill five criteria to change their legal gender status, including not only gender affirmation surgery but also sterilization. A court ruled that forcing sterilizations is unconstitutional and granted a transgender man permission to change his status without undergoing surgery.

“I still can’t believe it”

On October 11th, a court in central Japan granted a transgender man permission to change his legal status from female to male without undergoing sterilization surgery — –one of the five requirements for changing gender status under Japanese law.

The court also judged the surgery requirement unconstitutional, a historic first in Japan’s judicial proceedings.

The decision comes a year after transgender man Suzuki Gen (48) filed a request…