Overview

• The court ruled on September 19 that the statutory requirement to match genital appearance to the post-change sex is unconstitutional and invalid.
• The petitioner, a transgender man in his 30s from Sapporo, won legal recognition from female to male without surgery or hormone therapy.
• The decision arose under Japan’s Special Cases Act, which has required a genital appearance change among other conditions for legal gender updates.
• The ruling applies to this case through the family court process and does not itself change the statute nationwide.
• The petitioner said the court recognized him as he is and expressed hope that similar decisions will spread across the country.