Akita Prefecture was the seventh prefecture to create a registry for same-sex partnerships and the third prefecture to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
A partnership oath system has also been in effect in Akita Prefecture since 1 April 2022. [1] In addition, Akita City also passed a partnership registry in April 2022. [2]
In April 2022, legislation prohibiting discrimination among others sexual orientation and gender identity came into operation in Akita Prefecture. [3]
Akita Prefecture [a̠kʲita̠] is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Its population is estimated 915,691 and its geographic area is 11,637 km2. Akita Prefecture is bordered by Aomori Prefecture to the north, Iwate Prefecture to the east, Miyagi Prefecture to the southeast, and Yamagata Prefecture to the south.
AkitaIPA:[aꜜki̥ta]; lit."Autumn field City" is the capital city of Akita Prefecture, Japan, and has been designated a core city since 1 April 1997. As of 1 August 2023, the city has an estimated population of 300,502 persons in 136,628 households and a population density of 332 persons per km². The total area of the city is 906.07 square kilometres (349.84 sq mi).
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Japan have fewer legal protections than in most other developed countries, although some developments towards stronger rights have been made in the 2020s. Same-sex sexual activity was criminalised only briefly in Japan's history between 1872 and 1881, after which a localised version of the Napoleonic Penal Code was adopted with an equal age of consent. Same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are ineligible for the legal protections available to opposite-sex couples, although since 2015 some cities and prefectures offer symbolic "partnership certificates" to recognise the relationships of same-sex couples. Japan is the only country in the G7 that does not legally recognize same-sex unions nationally in any form. In March 2021 and May 2023, the Sapporo and Nagoya District Courts ruled that not recognising same-sex marriage was a violation of the Constitution respectively. While in June 2022, the Osaka District Court ruled that not recognising same-sex marriage was not a violation of the Constitution, in November 2022, the Tokyo District Court ruled that the absence of same-sex marriage legislation was an unconstitutional state of affairs but did not violate the Constitution, though the court's ruling has no immediate legal effect. In June 2023, the Fukuoka District Court ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage was constitutional. A second ruling in September 2023 concluded that same-sex relationships should not be excluded from Japan's marriage system.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2007.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the U.S. state of Wyoming may face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Wyoming since 1977, and same-sex marriage was legalized in the state in October 2014. Wyoming statutes do not address discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBT people is illegal under federal law. In addition, the cities of Jackson, Casper, and Laramie have enacted ordinances outlawing discrimination in housing and public accommodations that cover sexual orientation and gender identity.
Japan does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions. Several municipalities and prefectures issue same-sex partnership certificates, which provide some benefits, but do not offer equal legal recognition. Most polls conducted since 2013 have found that a majority of Japanese people support the legalization of same-sex marriage or partnerships, and a 2018 poll found it supported by an overwhelming majority of those under age 60.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the U.S. state of Minnesota have the same rights and responsibilities as non-LGBT people. Minnesota became the first U.S. state to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in 1993, protecting LGBT people from discrimination in the fields of employment, housing, and public accommodations. In 2013, the state legalized same-sex marriage, after a bill allowing such marriages was passed by the Minnesota Legislature and subsequently signed into law by Governor Mark Dayton. This followed a 2012 ballot measure in which voters rejected constitutionally banning same-sex marriage.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. state of Georgia enjoy most of the same rights and liberties as non-LGBT people. LGBT rights in the state have been a recent occurrence, with most improvements occurring from the 2010s onward. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1998, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy law. Same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since 2015, in accordance with Obergefell v. Hodges. In addition, the state's largest city Atlanta, has a vibrant LGBT community and holds the biggest Pride parade in the Southeast. The state's hate crime laws, effective since June 26, 2020, explicitly include sexual orientation.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. state of Wisconsin have many of the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexuals; however, the transgender community may face some legal issues not experienced by cisgender residents, due in part to discrimination based on gender identity not being included in Wisconsin's anti-discrimination laws, nor is it covered in the state's hate crime law. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Wisconsin since October 6, 2014, when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal in the case of Wolf v. Walker. Discrimination based on sexual orientation is banned statewide in Wisconsin, and sexual orientation is a protected class in the state's hate crime laws. It approved such protections in 1982, making it the first state in the United States to do so.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania enjoy most of the same rights as non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Pennsylvania. Same-sex couples and families headed by same-sex couples are eligible for all of the protections available to opposite-sex married couples. Pennsylvania was the final Mid-Atlantic state without same-sex marriage, indeed lacking any form of same-sex recognition law until its statutory ban was overturned on May 20, 2014.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. state of North Carolina may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents, or LGBT residents of other states with more liberal laws.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S. state of Kansas have federal protections, but many face some legal challenges on the state level that are not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Kansas under the US Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy laws that only apply to same-sex sexual acts. The state has prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations since 2020. Proposed bills restricting preferred gender identity on legal documents, bans on transgender people in women's sports, bathroom use restrictions, among other bills were vetoed numerous times by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly since 2021. However, many of Kelly's vetoes were overridden by the Republican supermajority in the Kansas legislature and became law.
Akita Prefectural Gymnasium is a stadium in Akita, Akita Prefecture, Japan.
The Japanese sandfish, also known as the sailfin sandfish, is a species of fish of the Percomorpha (perch-like) clade in the order Trachiniformes, being one of the two genera in the family Trichodontidae, the sandfishes. Known in Japan as hatahata, it is a commercially important fish especially for Akita and Yamagata prefectures. Its habitat occurs in sandy-mud bottoms ranging from the Sea of Japan to the Okhotsk Sea.
The Akita at-large district is a constituency that represents Akita Prefecture in the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan. Councillors are elected to the house by single non-transferable vote (SNTV) for six-year terms. Since the establishment of the current House of Councillors electoral system in 1947, the district has elected two Councillors, one each at elections held every three years. It has 888,496 registered voters as of September 2015.
Hiroomote is a neighbourhood located in Akita City, Akita Prefecture, Japan. Annexed by the city in 1941, it borders the neighborhoods of Shimokitate on the east, Yanagida on the north, Tegata on the west and Sakura and Yokomori on the south that is bounded by Taihei River. Developed primarily in the post-World War II era, it is residential with commercial uses fronting prefectural roads #41, #28 and #62. The neighborhood is the location of the Akita University Hospital and Hiroomote Shopping Center.
Tokyo is one of Japan's leading jurisdictions when it comes to civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Jurisdictions in Tokyo were among the first to establish partnership registries for same-sex couples, and Tokyo became the tenth prefecture-level government to establish a registry in November 2022. Previously in 2018, Tokyo became the first prefecture-level government to enact an LGBT-inclusive human rights law protecting against discrimination and hate speech.
Ibaraki Prefecture was the first prefecture of Japan and in the Kantō region to introduce a partnership registry for same-sex couples, as well as the second in the country to pass LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination protections.
As of 1 March 2024, 374 municipalities and 21 prefectures have established a "partnership oath system", also known as "partnership certification system", which provides same-sex couples with some limited benefits.