In August, there was a victory for a same-sex couple in Japan, when a foreign national was granted a long-term resident permit after living undocumented in the country for 26 years. The couple's lawyer said the Supreme Court had taken into consideration their 17-year romantic relationship.
For Japan's highest court to acknowledge that same-sex relationships merit the same legal protections as heterosexual ones was an unambiguous and uncomplicated example of compassionate justice.