U.S. man in same-sex marriage loses long-term residency bid in Japan

Japan’s top court has denied a long-term residency visa to an American man who married his same-sex Japanese partner in the United States.

The Supreme Court upheld the Tokyo High Court’s 2023 ruling that said a same-sex couple in Japan does not have the equivalent status as a heterosexual couple. The man, Andrew High, had argued that the denial violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equality under the law.

In Japan, where same-sex marriages are not legally recognized, a “spouse or child of a Japanese national” visa is available only when a foreigner marries a Japanese of the opposite sex.

Although the Tokyo District Court ruled against granting High long-term residency in September 2022, it said he should be granted a “designated activities” visa. He subsequently obtained that visa in March 2023.

The district court had described the immigration authority’s practice of granting a “designated activities” visa for same-sex couples if both of them are foreign nationals but not if one of them is Japanese as going against the Constitution.

High had previously only been granted a temporary visa.

Even with the “designated activities” visa, High still sought for the more stable long-term resident visa, which does not have limits to working conditions, according to his lawyers.