Japan's parliament on Friday passed a much-contested bill to promote understanding of the LGBTQ community amid criticism that the legislation provides no human rights guarantees and may tacitly encourage some forms of discrimination.
Japan, the only Group of Seven (G7) nation with no legal protection for same-sex unions, had originally pledged to pass the law before hosting the G7 leaders' summit held in Hiroshima from May 19 to 21.
However, wrangling over the bill and its wording meant it was only submitted to parliament for consideration the day before the summit began.