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| Akashi municipal office, Nakasaki, Akashi, Hyogo, Sept. 26, 2019. Photo by Toshihiro Hamamoto |
Akashi, Hyogo -- The city has announced that they will be introducing the "partnership and familyship" system where local governments will acknowledge LGBT couples and their parental relationships with their children. It will be effective starting from January of next year. Some companies already offer employee benefits for queer couples with children who otherwise don't have legal parental rights yet, but for municipal governments, Akashi will be the first to implement it in the country. They are also aiming to encourage other businesses to implement the same system.
With the new "familyship" system, same-sex couples and their children will now be able to live in municipal housing, which is generally available for married couples and families that are recognized by the law. Furthermore, the same rules and rights will apply to LGBT families when they have to visit a family member in a city hospital, and they can also pick their children up from school whenever they feel sick.
Aside from sexual minorities, the system also includes couples in a de-facto marriage, queerplatonic relationships, etc., regardless of what gender they might identify with, as long as they are residents over 20 years of age. The only condition is that there must not be another partner involved. The city will issue a card as proof of familial relationships. The guidelines for the new system will be in effect from January 8, 2021.
Additionally, the city will subsidize the full payment of drawing up the partnership contract for couples. The new system will also specify that LGBT couples can share responsibilities like living expenses, modeled after civil partnerships. It will also include creating contracts to grant guardianship and decision making for partners who might have serious conditions like dementia, which affects one's mental capacity to make decisions.
Mayor Fusaho Izumi is focusing on support for minorities and the vulnerable population, and creating policies for child support. They also hired two LGBT staff members through nationwide recruitment in April. They are also setting up a consultation counter led by LGBT folks and their families. "I hope to meet every individual need and to match the new image of a family. I expect that the rest of the country will follow our example in introducing this new system," Mayor Izumi said in a press conference on Dec. 10.
Hiroko Masuhara, the head of the SDG promotions team that is in charge of the LGBT policies in the city, said, "It would be great to see everyone live true to themselves as new systems are put into place."
The partnership system may not be legally binding, but ever since the system was introduced in Shibuya and Setagaya in 2015, more than 60 local governments have adopted it and have drawn more attention to understanding the situation of the LGBT community.
【Toshihiro Hamamoto】
Source: https://mainichi.jp/articles/20201210/k00/00m/040/153000c
With the new "familyship" system, same-sex couples and their children will now be able to live in municipal housing, which is generally available for married couples and families that are recognized by the law. Furthermore, the same rules and rights will apply to LGBT families when they have to visit a family member in a city hospital, and they can also pick their children up from school whenever they feel sick.
Aside from sexual minorities, the system also includes couples in a de-facto marriage, queerplatonic relationships, etc., regardless of what gender they might identify with, as long as they are residents over 20 years of age. The only condition is that there must not be another partner involved. The city will issue a card as proof of familial relationships. The guidelines for the new system will be in effect from January 8, 2021.
Additionally, the city will subsidize the full payment of drawing up the partnership contract for couples. The new system will also specify that LGBT couples can share responsibilities like living expenses, modeled after civil partnerships. It will also include creating contracts to grant guardianship and decision making for partners who might have serious conditions like dementia, which affects one's mental capacity to make decisions.
Mayor Fusaho Izumi is focusing on support for minorities and the vulnerable population, and creating policies for child support. They also hired two LGBT staff members through nationwide recruitment in April. They are also setting up a consultation counter led by LGBT folks and their families. "I hope to meet every individual need and to match the new image of a family. I expect that the rest of the country will follow our example in introducing this new system," Mayor Izumi said in a press conference on Dec. 10.
Hiroko Masuhara, the head of the SDG promotions team that is in charge of the LGBT policies in the city, said, "It would be great to see everyone live true to themselves as new systems are put into place."
The partnership system may not be legally binding, but ever since the system was introduced in Shibuya and Setagaya in 2015, more than 60 local governments have adopted it and have drawn more attention to understanding the situation of the LGBT community.
【Toshihiro Hamamoto】
Source: https://mainichi.jp/articles/20201210/k00/00m/040/153000c
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