Tokyo began issuing partnership certificates to same-sex couples who live and work in the capital today, a long-awaited move in a country without marriage equality.
The certificates allow LGBTQ partners to be treated as married couples for a range of public services in areas such as housing, medicine and welfare.
More than 200 smaller local authorities in Japan have already made moves to recognize same-sex partnerships since Tokyo's Shibuya district pioneered the system in 2015.