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

Japan's top court denied Thursday 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 s…READ FULL ARTICLE