A Japanese court rules it's unconstitutional to require surgery for a change of gender on documents
Source: Associated Press
A Japanese court rules it’s unconstitutional to require surgery for a change of gender on documents
BY MARI YAMAGUCHI
Updated 11:00 PM EDT, October 12, 2023
TOKYO (AP) — A court in central Japan ruled Thursday that it is unconstitutional to require a transgender person to undergo surgery to remove their current reproductive organs in order for them to receive documentation under their new gender.
The verdict in Shizuoka family court upholds a transgender plaintiff’s request to change their gender from female to male without having surgery, a decision that was hailed as a landmark by LGBTQ+ advocates. The verdict sets only a limited precedent, but a similar case before Japan’s Supreme Court could set legal precedent nationally.
Gen Suzuki, 48, filed a lawsuit in 2021, seeking a court decision to allow a change of his biologically assigned gender of female to male to match his self-identity without an operation. He said the requirement to undergo surgery was inhuman and unconstitutional.
On Thursday, the Shizuoka family court upheld his request, saying that surgery to remove sexual organs would cause an irreversible loss of reproductive functions, and that to require the surgery “raises a question of its necessity and rationality” from medical and social perspectives.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/japan-court-ruling-transgender-surgery-unconstitutional-94ded50a02d0f8f0a65992e7c7314aed