Despite some legal setbacks, many Japanese jurisdictions have moved ahead with strengthening recognition and registration of same-sex couples:

• A record number of cities and wards enacted partnership registries on a single day (1 April)
• Tokyo is set to (finally) establish a prefecture-wide partnership registry on 1 November
• Saga and Fukuoka prefectures, both on Kyushu, established a mutual recognition agreement (18 August), the first between prefectures.
• Crystal ball notes:
  • I would not be surprised if mutual recognition between prefectural governments becomes more of a thing in lieu of any national-level recognition
  • In Taiwan’s spree of local registries from 2015 to 2018 prior to same-sex marriage, at least one agreement was made, this being between Taipei and Kaohsiung city governments.
  • While Shibuya in Tokyo was the first in Japan to create a partnership registry, the city of Fukuoka was the first to establish a mutual recognition agreement with other cities, and has done so mostly with other cities’ registries on the island of Kyushu.
  • Most other cities which have established these mutual recognition agreements have mostly done so within the same prefecture.
  • This agreement between Saga and Fukuoka is likely to do a lot of advancement for the cause of same-sex civil recognition in Japan, cutting some red tape.
  • Saga and Fukuoka are two of eight prefectures with same-sex partnerships created since 2019, with three others (Tochigi, Shizuoka and Tokyo) joining throughout the autumn. Saga and Fukuoka are also two prefectures with registries which border each other.
  • Aomori and Akita, which also have registries, also border each other in Northern Honshu, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they also make an agreement soon.
  • With Tochigi enacting their registry on 1 September, I wouldn’t be surprised at a mutual agreement between Tochigi, Ibaraki and Gunma.
  • Based on the above, why are Saitama and Kanagawa holding out on prefectural registries?