News Canada grants refuge status to Japanese lesbian couple

[thomas]

Now, isn't that a little embarrassing: Canada acknowledged granting asylum to two Japanese women in September, citing the significant discrimination they encountered in Japan due to their sexual orientation and gender. The absence of legal recognition for same-sex marriage in Japan was also a factor, as it resulted in the couple being ineligible for the benefits afforded to heterosexual married couples. The Canadian immigration officials determined that the women's concerns about persecution in Japan were well-founded.

One woman who goes by Eri is in her 30s and her partner Hana is in her 50s. They moved together to Canada in 2021 after experiencing discrimination in their community and in their workplaces. They now have permanent resident status in Canada. They submitted a document to the Canadian government that ran to about 200 pages explaining the situation they faced in Japan and the current legal system regarding same-sex marriage. They were accepted as refugees after interviews and public hearings. [...] The women explained they were now going public about gaining refugee status because they wanted to heighten awareness within the Japanese government and among the public. They noted that many women, as well as LGBTQs in Japan, continue to face the same difficulties they did.

Also, this is something I didn't know:

While the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has said that dozens of Japanese are granted refugee status in other nations every year, its reports do not give specific reasons for doing so.

Japanese lesbian couple granted refugee status in Canada | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis