'I will continue to fight': South Korea's first transgender soldier vows to oppose dismissal
South Korea's first transgender soldier said Wednesday she would sue the military after it announced it would dismiss her for undergoing gender reassignment surgery last year. Byun Hui-su, who holds the rank of staff sergeant and is stationed in Gyeonggi Province, north of Seoul, had ...
Germany moved a step closer to banning so-called gay conversion therapies Wednesday, as the Cabinet backed a law that would punish bogus practitioners with up to a year in prison. Activists hailed the move, saying Germany would become the first major European power to outlaw ...
Poll shows 1 in 10 in Japan identify as LGBT or other sexual minorities
By sexual orientation, 2.8 percent of those polled said they were bisexual, 1.4 percent said they questioned their sexuality, while 0.9 percent described themselves each as either asexual or gay.
Yokohama begins distributing papers recognizing LGBT and common-law couples
Yokohama began issuing certificates that recognize the partnerships of sexual minorities and common-law couples Monday. Yokohama is the third city in the nation to implement a recognition system for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, as well as common-law couples, according to the city. It will ...
Survey of 167 countries shows tolerance toward LGBT people rising globally
LGBT people have seen a rise in tolerance in almost every region of the world over the last decade, according to an index released on Monday. Iceland was named as the most tolerant country toward LGBT people in a survey of 167 countries by British ...
Universities in Japan taking steps to promote acceptance of LGBT students
The movement to create safe environments for sexual minorities at universities is gaining traction across Japan, with alumni groups and faculty promoting initiatives to deepen understanding and provide support for the LGBT community. "I want to make my alma mater a place where sexual minorities ...
Four medical facilities have provided assisted reproductive treatment for lesbian and transgender couples against the guidelines set by the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a survey showed Sunday. Two medical facilities have used sperm from a third person to artificially inseminate lesbian couples, while ...
Pop-up venue Pride House opens in Tokyo for LGBT fans ahead of 2019 Rugby World Cup
As the Rugby World Cup got underway Friday, a pop-up venue for LGBT and other sexual minority fans opened in Tokyo, in an initiative organizers hope to build on for next year's Olympics and beyond. The Pride House Tokyo 2019 in the capital's Harajuku district ...
Woman awarded damages in Japan for same-sex partner's infidelity with sperm donor
A court awarded damages Wednesday to a woman in her 30s who broke up with her same-sex partner because of infidelity, recognizing their common-law partnership despite same-sex marriage not being legal in the country. The Mooka branch of the Utsunomiya District Court in Tochigi Prefecture ...
Transgender worker sues Osaka hospital after supervisor told colleagues she transitioned to female
A woman sued the operator of an Osaka hospital where she works on Friday, claiming she suffered undue emotional distress after her boss revealed to colleagues she had transitioned some years earlier due to her gender dysphoria. In a damages lawsuit filed with the Osaka ...
Thailand may become first in Southeast Asia to allow same-sex unions
In Thailand, the ruling coalition and opposition lawmakers don't agree on much. Yet within both camps there's growing support for legalizing same-sex unions. Seven years of work has yielded a draft bill that is near the final stage of approval in parliament. If passed, Thailand ...
Homophobia rising in European countries without same-sex marriage, study shows
Homophobia has risen in European countries that do not legally recognize same-sex relationships and acceptance of gay people has jumped in states where they can marry, research released on Wednesday showed. Most European countries saw a rise in acceptance of same-sex relationships between 2002 and ...
