‘How Did You Two Meet?’ Lesbian Partnerships in Present-day Japan

Same‐sex partnership in the family policies of Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan

“…This unease about homosexuality or avoidance of the topic is particularly strong within the individual's immediate networks of friends, kin members, and coworkers (Dale, 2020; Motoyama, 2019; Tamagawa, 2018). Cohabitation of same‐sex couples is often interpreted as house sharing due either to misinterpretation or to tacit rejection of the practice of intimate relationships beyond heterosexual ones (Kamano & Khor, 2008; Lunsing, 2005; Tamagawa, 2016). Similarly, at the level of laws and justice, front‐line judges have been reluctant to include people in same‐sex relationships under the protection of the Act on the Prevention of Spousal Violence and the Protection of Victims , although this law itself does not explicitly exclude same‐sex couples (Equality [Gay Japan News] and RC‐NET, 2017).…”

“…Therefore, they either live in more expensive private condominiums, if they can justify their move and afford the cost, or live with their parents, who may be homophobic. By comparison, their Taiwanese and Japanese counterparts can more often “buy” their privacy by moving out of their parents’ home (Brainer, 2019; Kamano & Khor, 2008). Housing inflexibility also deprives same‐sex couples of the opportunity to consolidate their relationship by living together, negotiating homemaking, and pooling resources for a shared present and future (Tang, 2018).…”

“…Although smaller in quantity and scale compared with the research conducted in the West, there is a growing number of studies on same‐sex partnership (SSP) and queer families in Asia (e.g., Brainer, 2019; Kamano, 2009; Kamano & Khor, 2008; Pai, 2017; Tang, 2018; Tang et al, 2020). These studies largely focus on how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning people (LGBTQ) form families within and outside the frame of marriage.…”