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The Tokyo Metropolitan government plans to introduce a system that allows same-sex partnership in the city by the end of the next financial year, Reuters reported.

The move came after the local assembly unanimously called for a system to allow same-sex partnership.

"In response to the wishes of Tokyo residents and those concerned by this issue, we will draft a basic principle to recognise same-sex partnerships this fiscal year," Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said on Dec. 7, AFP reported.

She added that the city planned to introduce the policy by the end of the following financial year, ending March 2023.

According to AFP, out of the G7 countries, Japan is the only country that does not recognise same-sex marriage, as its constitution stated that marriage should only be "with the consent of both sexes".

Some districts in Japan already recognised same-sex couples

According to Reuters, some local wards and municipalities within Tokyo had already been introducing similar plans that recognise same-sex couples.

For example, in 2015, Tokyo's Shibuya district was the first in Japan to issue symbolic same-sex partnerships certificates.

Activists believe that in Japan, 110 local governments recognise these partnerships certificates, giving couples the right to visit a partner in hospital and rent properties together, AFP added.

Nonetheless, some critics reportedly said that under such partnership arrangements, some couples may still face disadvantages in several areas, such as taxation.

However, AFP reported that activist groups, such as Marriage for All Japan, highlighted that partnership does not have the same legal effects as marriage.

Hence, they urged the government to hasten the implementation of same-sex marriage.

More than a dozen couples filed lawsuits

Not all couples live in areas in Japan that recognise the certificates.

In 2020, more than a dozen couples filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the government's failure to recognise gay marriage.

According to the BBC, in March, a district court in northern Sapporo ruled that Japan's failure to recognise same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

Even if opinion polls so far have indicated a favourable outlook towards gay marriage in the country, the conservative ruling party, Liberal Democratic Party, has been reluctant to push for reforms.

The latest move from Tokyo is also unlikely to influence the federal government's decision regarding the issue.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during his party's leadership race this year that he "had not reached the point of accepting same-sex marriage", AFP reported.

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Top image via Human Rights Watch/Facebook