30% of Japan areas with LGBT partnership system have mutual accords

Over 30 percent of the 146 local governments in Japan that have introduced a same-sex partnership system as of Jan. 1 have also signed reciprocal agreements with other municipalities to simplify reapplication procedures when LGBT couples move, according to a Kyodo News survey.The move comes amid criticism that the need for a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender couple to dissolve a partnership and reapply each time they move causes emotional stress.The cross-municipality cooperation has accelerated since the southwestern Japan cities of Fukuoka and Kumamoto signed such an agreement in Octo…READ FULL ARTICLE