A 2004 law states people wishing to register a gender change must have their original reproductive organs removed and have a body that "appears to have parts that resemble the genital organs" of the gender they want to register. The Supreme Court in January rejected an appeal by a transgender man who wanted legal recognition without undergoing surgery, though the court acknowledged that the practice restricts freedom and could become out of step with changing social values.
"Japan's government needs urgently to address and fundamentally revise the legal recognition process that remains anchored to a diagnostic framework that fails to meet international standards," the report said. It said the law, which still defines gender incongruence as a "disorder," is out of step with international medical standards.
Japanese society has a growing awareness of sexual diversity but it is often superficial. Pressure for conformity forces many LGBT people to hide their sexual identity even from their families, and transgender people often have high obstacles to living outside traditional gender roles.
Japan did nothing wrong!