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Same-Sex Partnerships and Residence Status

Same-sex partner visa questions in Japan run on two separate tracks: the marriage-law track, which is still before the courts, and the residence-status track, which already has a workaround for some couples.12 This article owns the residence track as of 2026-09.13

Confirm current details with official sources

Procedures and court positions can change. Confirm current details at the Immigration Services Agency site and follow the pending Supreme Court cases through reputable court reporting. This article is general information, not legal or immigration advice; for your specific case, consult a licensed gyoseishoshi for a Designated Activities filing read, or an immigration lawyer for a refusal or an equality-law argument.

Last verified: 2026-09.

Overview​

Residence status asks a narrower question than marriage law: on what basis may this person stay.4 For same-sex couples the answer today is never a spouse status and sometimes a 特定活動 (tokutei katsudō, "designated activities")5 grant, depending on the couple's composition.624 Municipal partnership certificates document a relationship for local services but create no status of residence.4

Japan registers no same-sex marriage at the national level, so spouse statuses built on registered marriage do not currently apply to same-sex couples.624 That is the position as of 2026-09, and it is also the position under challenge.

Six marriage-equality suits reached the Supreme Court's Grand Bench after referral on 2026-03-25.1 Five high courts (Sapporo, Tokyo, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Osaka) called the exclusion unconstitutional, while a second Tokyo High Court panel upheld it; all damages claims failed.13 A unified constitutional ruling is expected in fiscal 2026 or early 2027.13 Even a finding of unconstitutionality would oblige the Diet to review the system rather than register marriages the next day, so read any ruling as the start of legislation, not its end.1

Neutrality is the point of this section

Courts and the Diet disagree, and the disagreement is live. This article states each institution's position without predicting the outcome, and every date-sensitive claim carries its as-of month.13

The foreign-foreign Designated Activities workaround​

MOJ notice Kan-Zai 5357 of 2013-10-18 directs bureaus to consider non-noticed 告示外特定活動 (kokujigai tokutei katsudō) for a same-sex spouse on humanitarian grounds.27 Three conditions must all hold: the marriage is legally valid in both partners' home countries, one partner already holds a Japanese status, and the household shows a stable financial foundation.24

No Certificate of Eligibility issues for this non-noticed category, so the partner cannot be invited directly from abroad on it.47 The working route is entry by another means, commonly as a temporary visitor, followed by a change of status inside Japan.4 ISA granted at least 93 such permissions between 2013 and 2020 in the first official count.8

Designated Activities authorizes cohabitation, not employment; DA holders work only with a separate work permission.4 Genuineness scrutiny matches spouse-status files, so assemble the same relationship evidence this subcategory's documenting article describes.4

The unresolved foreign-Japanese case​

The 2013 notice covers foreign-foreign couples only: where one partner is Japanese, the "valid in both home countries" test has no second country to check.28 On 2022-09-30 the Tokyo District Court held it unlawful to deny Designated Activities to the foreign partner of a Japanese national while granting it to foreign-foreign couples, on equality grounds, while denying the Long-Term Resident claim in the same judgment.29

Practitioner sources describe the foreign-Japanese route as still case-by-case at agency level, with no published grant practice equivalent to the foreign-foreign track.47 Couples in this position should get professional advice before structuring entry and filing around a single district-court judgment.4

Renewal and what kills your renewal​

Designated Activities renewal re-tests the designation basis: the ongoing genuine partnership, the anchor partner's continuing status, and household livelihood.4

What kills your renewal:

  • Relationship breakdown. The designation exists for cohabitation as partners; its end collapses the basis.4
  • Loss of the anchor status. When the partner holding the Japanese status leaves, converts out, or loses it, the derivative DA has nothing to hang on.4
  • Unauthorized work. Employment without the separate work permission breaches the designation and poisons renewal.4

Good to know​

A partnership certificate does not create a spouse status​

Presenting a municipal certificate as marriage evidence confuses two separate tracks. It supports daily-life procedures; it answers no residence question.4

Enter first, then change status inside Japan for the workaround​

No COE means no direct consular invitation route for the non-noticed DA. Plan entry and the in-country change filing as one sequence with professional help.47

Watch the Grand Bench ruling before making irreversible plans​

A 2027 ruling could reshape the whole framework or leave it to the Diet for years. Time major moves, such as quitting a job abroad, around decided law rather than expected law.13

See also​

References​

Footnotes​

  1. The Asahi Shimbun. "Supreme Court to hear lawsuits against same-sex marriage ban." 2026-03-26. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/16449801 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  2. Yanagi KAJI Group. "Same-Sex Marriage and the Designated Activities Visa in Japan." 2025-06-18. https://immigration-lawyer.co.jp/column/%E5%90%8C%E6%80%A7%E5%A9%9A%E3%81%AE%E7%89%B9%E5%AE%9A%E6%B4%BB%E5%8B%95%E3%83%93%E3%82%B6/?language=eng ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  3. The Japan Times. "Japan top court to issue unified ruling on same-sex marriage." 2026-03-26. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/03/26/japan/crime-legal/court-same-sex-marriage ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  4. YOKOYAMA LEGAL SERVICE OFFICE. "Can Same-Sex Couples Live in Japan? Visa Options Explained." 2026-04-21. https://lawoffice-yokoyama.com/english/samesexmarriagevisa ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17

  5. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. "Specified visa: Designated activities." https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/long/visa13.html ↩

  6. e-Gov法令検索. 「出入国管理及び難民認定法」. https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/326CO0000000319 ↩ ↩2

  7. Daiichi Sogo Office. "Can same-sex partners get visas?" 2024-11-25. https://dsg.or.jp/column/other-visas/4285 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  8. News On Japan (Kyodo). "Japan granted 93 foreigners permission to bring their same-sex spouse." 2021-03-27. https://newsonjapan.com/article/130345.php ↩ ↩2

  9. The Asahi Shimbun (editorial). "Same-sex couples of Japanese and foreigners need equality in Japan." 2022-10-11. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14739594 ↩