Happy New Year 2025! This is the Palettalk Editorial Team.

In 2024, many important news related to LGBTQ+, feminism, and gender made headlines.

For example, in the fight for marriage equality (same-sex marriage), the high courts in Sapporo, Tokyo, and Fukuoka declared that the current law prohibiting same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Notably, the Fukuoka High Court was the first to rule that this violates Article 13 of the Constitution, which emphasizes individual respect.

The “Marriage for All” lawsuits, which began on February 14, 2019, will soon mark their fifth year. These rulings declaring unconstitutionality was joyful news showing that thanks to the plaintiffs, legal teams, and countless voices of support across the nation, society has been gradually moving forward. However, despite such clear judicial decisions, the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have not taken positive steps toward making same-sex marriage legal.

Attention also centered on remarks from Prime Minister Ishiba and the Minister of Justice, who noted that “happiness levels would rise if same-sex marriage were realized.” However, the need to continue pushing lawmakers and the government for taking action to realize same-sex marriage was heavily felt.

On the other hand, discriminatory remarks against LGBTQ+ individuals by politicians continued to be a problem. Furthermore, Japan ranked 125th out of 146 countries in the 2023 Global Gender Gap Index, dropping from 116th the previous year. This highlighted the severe gender inequality in politics.

In addition, events such as the Noto Peninsula earthquake at the beginning of 2024 and the following challenges of recovery, as well as ongoing massacres and wars worldwide, left many feeling hopeless at the state of society.

As we aim for a fair society where everyone can live true to themselves, there are moments when individual voices bring progress, but also many instances where it feels like those voices go unheard.

Precisely because of these daily struggles, we were reminded how important it is to feel the presence of others raising their voices, and how powerful it is to build communities where we can share not only joy but also pain and frustration.

Palettalk will continue working hard to be a source of light for anyone feeling isolated in their struggles and to inspire courage for a better tomorrow. We aim to provide a safe space where everyone can gather, share their voices, and we will enhance our content even further.Thank you for your support this year as well.
Sincerely,
The Palettalk Editorial Team

(Translation: Jennifer Martin)