Gay employees at Japan's Panasonic will soon be offered the same family leave as their straight counterparts, the electronics giant said Thursday, in the latest boost for same-sex couples in Japan.
Panasonic is one of the first major corporations in the country to provide equal benefits for sexual minority employees, along with Dai-ichi Life Insurance.
Japan still lags behind the US and many other Western nations in terms of gay rights and marriage, despite greater public acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in recent years.
"We are a global company, so we have already had cases in the United States and Europe, where homosexual employees were treated without discrimination," said Panasonic spokeswoman Yayoi Watanabe.
Workers with same-sex partners will from April receive the same family leave as those who are legally married, she said, along with a range of other equal benefits. Panasonic employs some 250,000 people at home and abroad.
Tokyo's Shibuya district last year started issuing "partnership" certificates to same-sex couples, in a landmark for the country's gay rights movement.
Another Tokyo district as well as the city of Iga in western Japan have also taken steps to accommodate same-sex partnerships.
Gay couples elsewhere in Japan complain that they may be prevented from visiting sick loved ones in hospitals or refused tenancy because their relationship is not legally recognised.
Panasonic is one of the major sponsors for the International Olympic Committee, and the Olympic Charter, which opposes discrimination against sexual minorities.
That sponsorship was one of the factors behind the change to Panasonic's benefit scheme, Watanabe said.
Japan has historically been broadly tolerant of homosexuality, with documented cases of samurai warriors during feudal times having male lovers, while same-sex relationships have been depicted in traditional art, such as ukiyoe, or wood block prints.
But as Japan industrialised and modernised from the late 19th century, Western prejudices against homosexuality were increasingly adopted.
AFP
Thu Feb 18 2016
Workers with same-sex partners will from April receive the same family leave as those who are legally married, along with a range of other equal benefits.
Nur Shazrin mungkin 'lupakan' Paris 2024
Nur Shazrin kemungkinan 'terpaksa' melupakan penampilan kali ketiganya di Sukan Olimpik Paris 2024 berikutan kecederaan pada tangan kanannya ketika menyertai kejohanan Last Chance Regatta di Hyeres.
Asia Pasifik kini dalam era 'gemilang' transformasi digital - Huawei
Rantau Asia Pasifik turut menjadi ikutan pihak lain yang giat berusaha meningkatkan ekonomi digital mereka.
KPWKM ambil tindakan kepada lebih 500 taska tidak berdaftar
Sebanyak 49.8 peratus atau 538 daripada 1,080 taska yang tidak berdaftar dengan JKM di negara ini telah diambil tindakan penguatkuasaan dan pentadbiran.
Segmen penerbangan Capital A catat 90 peratus faktor muatan, 15.4 juta penumpang pada suku pertama 2024
AAG mencatatkan prestasi yang bertambah baik dengan merekodkan faktor muatan sebanyak 90 peratus pada suku pertama 2024, mencerminkan peningkatan satu peratus tahun ke tahun.
Pegawai, anggota bomba di lima negeri ada masalah kesihatan
Ujian Kemahiran Taktikal Kebombaan diduduki seramai 12,608 anggota dan pegawai dan hanya 9,313 sahaja yang lulus.
Kerajaan komited lahirkan lebih ramai teknousahawan
Anugerah Teknousahawan TVET@KKDW diperkenalkan bagi memberi pengiktirafan serta penghargaan kepada institusi, pengajar, pelajar, graduan dan alumni yang telah menunjukkan kecemerlangan dalam bidang keusahawanan TVET.
Kedah bakal bangunkan LRT di Langkawi
Kedah merancang membina sistem tren Transit Aliran Ringan (LRT) menggunakan teknologi levitasi magnet di Langkawi
Kes pedofilia MRSM Tumpat diklasifikasikan fitnah, tiada bukti kukuh
Kes pedofilia terhadap seorang guru Maktab Rendah Sains Mara di Tumpat diklasifikasikan sebagai fitnah selepas siasatan tidak menemui bukti kukuh berhubung kes itu, kata Ketua Polis Kelantan Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun.
Kerajaan berusaha tangani inflasi, tingkat kuasa beli rakyat
Menurut Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, kerajaan tidak berdiam diri dalam menangani masalah inflasi termasuk melalui pelaksanaan pelbagai bentuk intervensi seperti kawalan harga.
Keutamaan negara Asia Barat untuk penuhi hasrat rakyat Palestin
Sekiranya Palestin diberikan negara dan kebebasan, mana-mana pihak tidak perlu lagi campur tangan dan tidak ada lagi konflik di Timur Tengah.