A nonbinary individual plans to file a petition with the Kyoto Family Court to request a gender-neutral designation on family registers in addition to the usual choices of male or female.

The fiftysomething petitioner, whose registered domicile is in Kyoto Prefecture, was listed as “eldest daughter” on the family register, based on birth registration as a female.

However, from a young age, the individual has felt strong discomfort from being treated as a female and now wants to change the term “eldest daughter” to “first child” or another non-gendered alternative.

“On passports and other official documents, the gender field only offers male or female, and I have felt my existence is not recognized,” the petitioner said.

Article 13 of the Family Registration Law requires the inclusion of “relationship to biological parents” in family registers, but it does not stipulate gender.

In practice, however, the registers are marked with gendered terms, such as “eldest daughter” or “second son.”

“The Family Registration Law requires the gender to be recorded on birth registrations, and we understand that gender is included in the ‘relationship’ section of the family register, which is created based on the birth registration,” the Justice Ministry said.

The petitioner’s lawyer, Shun Nakaoka of the Osaka Bar Association, said that listing a gender that contradicts the individual’s wishes violates Article 13 of the Constitution, which guarantees individual dignity.”

“The term ‘eldest daughter’ does not align with the petitioner’s gender identity or living experience, and it constitutes a mistake under the grounds for seeking a correction to the family register,” she said.

Nakaoka added, “There is no legal distinction between being listed as ‘eldest daughter’ or ‘eldest son,’ and there is no rational reason to include gender in the family register.”

If the family court grants a correction to the family register, the petitioner will take the ruling to the local government office to process the request.

OVERSEAS OPTIONS

There are signs of progress in Japan to eliminate or revise gender fields on certain documents, such as resumes.

Nakaoka noted that some overseas countries have gone further by introducing a third gender option in identity registrations, while other nations allow individuals to opt out of listing their gender.

“In Japan, the rights of not only nonbinary individuals but also those who do not wish to have their gender recorded should be protected,” she said.

According to a database of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA), 18 countries, including Pakistan, New Zealand, India and Iceland, recognize genders beyond male and female at national or regional levels.

Germany introduced a third option, “Diverse,” in 2019 after its Federal Constitutional Court ruled in 2017 that the system, which only allowed male and female options for identity registration, was unconstitutional.

Canada added a third gender marker on passports, allowing individuals to choose “X” in addition to “M” for male and “F” for female.

The petitioner, in fact, had moved to Canada after becoming fed up with being treated as a woman in Japan.

EXISTENCE ‘DENIED’

The nonbinary individual has constantly felt out of place since childhood.

During school baseball games, boys were placed in the cheering squad while girls performed as cheerleaders. The uniforms and roles were always divided into two categories: male or female.

“I’ve never felt like a man or a woman, not once in my life,” the petitioner said. “Yet society and those around me have always treated me as a woman. I feel like my existence has been denied.”

After graduating from university, the individual survived on a succession of non-permanent jobs. Colleagues would expect details of their co-worker’s personal life, causing the individual to change jobs after short periods.

Holidays were spent at home all day.

“The moment I step outside, I’m faced with a world where only males or females exist,” the person said.

After turning 40, the individual thought, “I don’t want to live the rest of my life as a woman,” and decided to move to Canada, where the third gender option was available on forms.

“It was liberating to be able to check a third box,” the person said. “I felt respected and like a part of society.”

However, family circumstances led to a return to Japan.

Back home, leaving the gender field blank on official documents is treated as an omission. And forms with gender sections are almost always limited to male or female options.

“I want to be treated equally as a human being in Japan during my lifetime,” the person said. “I hope for a future where everyone has access to society’s doors from birth, just like men and women.”

The individual sees the petition as the first step toward that future.

Hiroyuki Taniguchi, a professor of international human rights law at Aoyama Gakuin University, said the petition holds significant meaning.

“In a society where the norm has long been that all people are divided into two categories―male or female―it is significant for nonbinary individuals, who are not easily understood even among sexual minorities, to question a legal system that assumes only two genders,” he said.