FUKUOKA -- The municipal government here is set to introduce a new system in fiscal 2018 that will officially recognize same-sex couples as partners, it has emerged. The municipality -- which is the largest in the Kyushu region in terms of population -- aims to start the initiative on April 1, 2018, after drawing up a basic outline concerning the system's procedures.

Titled the "partnership oath system," the new framework will enable same-sex couples to receive a "receipt," in exchange for submitting a signed oath to the Fukuoka Municipal Government. It is also thinking of bringing in support measures such as an LGBT consultation service.

If the system is actually introduced, Fukuoka will become the second government-designated major city after Sapporo, and the second municipality in the Kyushu-Okinawa region after Naha, to bring in such an initiative. Read more via Mainichi