Overview

• The rulings, dated Sept. 19, found unconstitutional the Special Law clause requiring an external appearance resembling post-change genitalia.
• Details were disclosed Sept. 29 by the claimants’ lawyers, who said the decisions appear to be the first public judicial findings of this kind.
• In one case, the court approved a change from male to female without surgery or other bodily treatment.
• The petitioner in that case is a Hokkaido resident in their 50s who did not undergo sex-reassignment surgery and stopped hormone therapy after about two months due to side effects.
• A separate decision the same day reached the same unconstitutionality finding, while full texts, any appeals, and official responses have not been made public.