Japan’s top telcos offering family discounts for same-sex couples

Earlier this week in Tokyo’s bustling Shibuya Ward, home of the infamous “scramble” street crossing (and our annual Tech in Asia Tokyo conference), same-sex couples anxiously lined up in front of the local city hall to apply for marriage certificates. Shibuya’s local government will become the first in Japan to recognize gay marriage, and the initial certificates are scheduled for distribution on November 5.

While the certificates are not legally binding or recognized outside of Shibuya, the local government stated that it would extend a number of benefits that heterosexual couples enjoy to members of the LGBT community – such as tax deductions, shared health insurance plans, hospital visitation and “sign off” rights (for medical treatment), and the opportunity to apply as a married couple on loan and rental applications. Individuals or businesses who refuse to recognize the certificates can’t be punished, but Shibuya’s government office will publicly shame them by putting their names on its official website.

In a show of support for the country’s gay and transgender community, Japan’s top three telco providers – Docomo, SoftBank, and AU – have each offered to extend family plan discounts to same-sex couples.

Way back in July, AU became the first of the trio to respond directly to the Shibuya ordinance, which officially passed in May. In a press release, the firm stated that it would offer its family discount to gay couples who present the Shibuya Ward certificate. AU seems to have left the requirement open-ended in the event that other local governments follow Shibuya’s lead, as the kanji character for “et cetera” is included after mentioning the certificate.

On October 23, Docomo released a similar statement that it would immediately begin accepting same-sex marriage certificates from Shibuya Ward when customers apply for a family plan. It’s also an open-ended offer.

It’s SoftBank, however, that might be the most progressive of Japan’s wireless providers – despite apparently not making a public statement about Shibuya’s ordinance specifically. A representative from SoftBank tells Tech in Asia the following:

As for our own ‘family plan’ discount, since we first started offering it in 2006, it has been available to customers who can verify they are living together at the same address listed on their official identification documents, such as a driver’s license. We have yet to make a decision on [Shibuya’s] same-sex couple certification, but as you can see, this particular document is not required to get the discount, provided that couple lives at the same address.

Marriage equality has made major strides in 2015 – with the US, Finland, Ireland, and Greenland each passing legislation that legally recognizes gay marriage this year. But there are only 22 countries worldwide with such national laws – and only one in all of Asia Pacific (New Zealand).

Despite Shibuya’s progressive attitude toward the issue, the conservative government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (who ironically owns a home in Shibuya) is staunchly opposed to marriage equality on a national level.

Japan’s large corporations are often considered conservative and old-fashioned compared to their western counterparts, but the country’s top three telcos should be applauded for taking up a potentially controversial social cause.

Is this already the norm in your country, and do you think it should be? Should corporate entities get involved with social or political causes? Share your opinion below.