29. The Committee is concerned about discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in employment, housing, social security, health care, education and other fields regulated by law, as exemplified by article 23 (1) of the Public Housing Law, which applies only to married and unmarried opposite-sex couples and effectively bars unmarried same-sex couples from renting public housing, and by the exclusion  of same-sex  partners from protection under the Law for the Prevention of Spousal Violence and the Protection of Victims (art. 2 (1) and 26).

The State party should consider amending its legislation, with a view to including sexual orientation among the prohibited grounds of discrimination, and ensure that benefits granted to unmarried cohabiting opposite-sex couples are equally granted to unmarried cohabiting same-sex couples, in line with the Committee’s interpretation of article 26 of the Covenant.

Link to full text of the report: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/co/CCPR-C-JPN-CO.5.doc