Nipponica

A Japanese high court on Wednesday approved an official gender change for a transgender woman who has not undergone confirmation surgery as legally required, in a rare decision.

The clause requiring gender confirmation surgery is "suspected of being unconstitutional" as it forces an individual to choose between undergoing surgery or giving up on gender change, the Hiroshima High Court said.

One more step. Also major props to all these Japanese courts that have been delivering similar ruling and pressuring the central government to act and legalized LGBT rights nationwide.

A record 56 people filed their candidacies for the July 7 gubernatorial election, but only 48 posters could be displayed on each of the official election campaign boards erected around Tokyo. The commission instructed the 49th person to file their candidacy and those that followed to attach their posters outside of the campaign board frame using plastic file folders.

Kawai, 43, argued, "The gubernatorial election, where not all candidates could display posters under the same conditions, was unfair and should be nullified." He stated that if his objection is rejected, he will pursue legal action.

Death to the stupid election poster boards already.

Saito's refusal came after the prefectural employee union submitted a complaint to the prefectural government earlier on Wednesday effectively demanding his resignation over the death of the official.

The late official, a former head of a regional branch of the prefectural government, created a document claiming that gifts from Hyogo Prefecture companies are piled up at the governor's home and that his power harassment is exceeding what officials can handle.

Pretty damning accusations by the union and the official that passed away.

The meeting is being backed by the cross-party Japan-Tibet Parliamentary Association, which is headed by former education minister Hakubun Shimomura and aims to boost support for Tibet.

The legislative body of Tibet’s government in exile will run the meeting, with around 90 people including lawmakers and scholars to come from 26 countries. The Dalai Lama, exiled supreme leader of Tibetan Buddhism, is planned to deliver a speech online

In an effort to support local and surrounding residents who wish to get married, this north Japan city has opened an online marriage support center. The service is like a local government-run "dating app," so to speak, and requires an interview and photo ID to join.

A city official in charge of the service said, "We hope that many men and women will use this service as it provides a safe and secure environment for their partner hunting activities." According to the Sapporo Municipal Government, this is the first such service among local governments in Hokkaido.

Insert Grindr joke here.

Operations at Hawaii’s Hilo International Airport were halted when security screeners spotted two items that looked like grenades in a bag belonging to a man from Japan.

Officers evacuated the terminal area Tuesday morning while a bomb squad determined the grenades were inert, according to a Hawaii Police Department statement. Airport operations resumed about an hour later.

Nothing to declare, apparently.

A woman who was swept out to sea while swimming at a beach in Japan has been rescued about 80km (50 miles) off the coast, 36 hours after she went missing, officials have said.

The 21-year-old Chinese national, buoyed by a rubber ring, had been swimming at Shirahama Ohama beach at about 7.30pm on Monday with a friend, the coast guard said on Thursday.

Literally one of my worst nightmares.

The local government in Japan’s Yamagata prefecture has just passed an ordinance calling on residents to laugh at least once every day to promote better physical and mental health, although the new law has gone down like a bad joke in some quarters.

Put forward by members of the normally strait-laced Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and passed on Friday, the ordinance encourages local residents to snigger, chortle or guffaw daily and asks business operators to “develop a workplace environment that is filled with laughter,” the Yomiuri newspaper reported.