 "Japan's top telcos offer family discounts to same-sex couples")
Earlier this week in Tokyo’s bustling Shibuya Ward, home of the infamous “scramble” street crossing (and our annual Tech in Asia Tokyo conference), same-sex couples anxiously lined up in front of the local city hall to apply for marriage certificates. Shibuya’s local government will become the first in Japan to recognize gay marriage, and the initial certificates are scheduled for distribution on November 5.
While the certificates are not legally binding or recognized outside of Shibuya, the local government stated that it would extend a number of benefits that heterosexual couples enjoy to members of the LGBT community – such as tax deductions, shared health insurance plans, hospital visitation and “sign off” rights (for medical treatment), and the opportunity to apply as a married couple on loan and rental applications. Individuals or businesses who refuse to recognize the certificates can’t be punished, but Shibuya’s government office will publicly shame them by putting their names on its official website.
In a show of support for the country’s gay and transgender community, Japan’s top three telco providers – Docomo, SoftBank, and AU – have each offered to extend family plan discounts to same-sex couples.
Way back in July, AU became the first of the trio to respond directly to the Shibuya ordinance, which officially passed in May. On October 23, Docomo released a similar statement. SoftBank too made a similar announcement though it did not make a public statement about Shibuya’s ordinance specifically.
This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here.