Japanese video gaming company Nintendo, renowned for games like Super Mario Bros, has announced that it will officially recognise same-sex relationships in the workplace although the country still doesn’t.
Making the announcement in its annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report, it also promised to revise policies to stamp-out harassment of staff 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 recognised 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 CSR report.
SAFETY AT WORK
The CSR report stated that it would recognise common-law marriages in the same way as legal marriages. It said it would also revise its policies regarding harassment to “clearly prohibit discriminatory comments based on sexual orientation or gender identity”. It also promised to prohibit “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 when a court in the third largest city ruled that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional. However, Nintendo’s move to officially recognise same-sex relationships will at least go towards making LGBTQ+ staff feel more comfortable at work, as their fight for gay marriage and LGBTQ+ equality in their country continues.
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