Nintendo to Officially Recognize Same-Sex Partnerships for Employees in Japan

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Japanese video gaming company Nintendo, renowned for games like Super Mario Bros, has announced that it will officially recognize same-sex relationships although the country still doesn’t.

Making the announcement in its annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report, Nintendo also promised to revise policies to stamp-out harassment of employees over their LGBTQ+ identities.

“We introduced the Partnership System in March 2021 as one initiative based on this philosophy. Although same-sex marriages are not currently recognized under Japanese law, this system ensures employees who are in a domestic partnership with a same-sex partner have the same benefits as employees in an opposite-sex marriage,” noted the company's latest CSR report.

The CSR report stated that it would recognize common-law marriages in the same way as legal marriages and that it would revise its policies regarding harassment to “clearly prohibit discriminatory comments based on sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as disclosing someone’s privately held sexual orientation against their will.”

Currently, Japan doesn’t allow same-sex marriage nor national LGBTQ+ non-discrimination protections. LGBTQ+ people in Japan therefore continue to face inequities in employment, housing, education, and health care.

LGBTQ+ rights in Japan suffered a blow last month (on June 20), when a court in the country’s third-most populated city ruled that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional. However, Nintendo’s move to officially recognize same-sex relationships will at least go towards making LGBTQ+ staff feel more comfortable at work as their fight for gay marriage and equality in Japan continues.