A Japanese court ruled Thursday that it was legal for the trade ministry to impose restrictions on a transgender official's use of women's restrooms, in a case in which the official was seeking to freely use the washroom of her choice.
Overturning a lower court decision that ruled in favor of the plaintiff, the Tokyo High Court said that limits on which restrooms the official can use could not be considered "unreasonable" as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry "sufficiently took into consideration" her concerns. The official was born male and has been living life as a woman.
However, the high court did order the government to pay damages of ¥110,000 ($1,000) to the official, citing a superior's remark that she should "return to being a man," upholding the lower court's recognition of the remark as illegal.